[The announcement of the lung age it is a motivation to quit smoking?]. / L'annonce de l'âge pulmonaire aux fumeurs est-elle une motivation au sevrage tabagique?

BACKGROUND: Smoking represents an ever-increasing problem of public health in the world, the impact of which is actually rising. The majority of smokers wish to stop smoking one day. This fact is one of the major acts leading to a better health and wellbeing. In the eighties, the lung age was already mentioned by Morris and Temple, a further tool motivating tobacco cessation. AIM: To determine the lung age of a population of workers and to evaluate the impact of its announcement on the smoking behavior. METHODS: It is a prospective study realized during a year (November 2010-November 2011) in a wire enterprise LEONI in Sousse (Tunisia), during an intervention program. 35 adult smokers were concerned by our study. A measurement of the breathing function by "Néo6" and a calculation of the lung age were practiced on all smokers. RESULTS: 35 smoking men (mean ± SD age of 36 ± 7 years, 27 and 28 smokers have, respectively, a high socio-economic level and a high schooling level) were included. The number of daily cigarettes consumed was from 5 to 40. The measurement of the smokers' respiratory function by the "Neo 6" did not show a pulmonary function defect. The lung age was of 45 ±13 years, significantly higher than the chronological age. The evaluation of the announcement of the lung age, realized one year after, showed that 8 among the 35 workers have stopped smoking and 7 smokers have reduced their tobacco consumption. CONCLUSION: Communicating the lung age results is an additional tool motivating tobacco cessation.

[Comparison of male and female thermal, cardiac, and muscular responses induced by a prolonged run undertaken in a hot environment]. / Comparison inter-sexuelle des réponses thermique, cardiaque, et musculaire lors d'une course prolongée en ambiance chaude.

The aim of this study was to compare male and female thermal, cardiac, and muscular responses induced by a prolonged run undertaken in a hot environment. Twelve volunteers participated in this study. The first group consisted of 6 men and the second one consisted of 6 women. After determination of their VO(2)max and maximal aerobic velocity (MAV), each athlete completed a 40-min run at 65% MAV in a hot and dry environment (temperature 31-33 degrees C, relative humidity 30%). Immediately before and after the run, each subject performed two different vertical jumps, i.e., a squat jump (SJ) and a counter-movement jump (CMJ) on a force platform. Force, velocity, power, and jump height were measured during each jump. The completion of the run was associated with a significant loss (p < 0.001) of body mass (BM) and significant increases (p < 0.001) in heart rate, tympanic temperature, and lactate concentration ([La]). Muscle power was significantly improved (+9%, p < 0.05) during the SJ only in the women. A significant enhancement of this parameter was also demonstrated during the CMJ in both groups (men: +10%, p < 0.05; women: +8%, p < 0.01). Surprisingly, a comparison of thermal, cardiac, and muscular responses did not reveal any significant differences between the sexes. Moderate dehydration (-2.0 to -2.3% of BM) and a rise in core temperature (above 39.2 degrees C) induced by the 40-min run led to an improvement of muscular strength in both men and women. However, the results of this study did not reveal any significant between-sex differences in thermal, cardiac, and muscular responses after exercising in the heat.