Physical Activity, Climate Change and Health-A Conceptual Model for Planning Public Health Action at the Organizational Level

The impact of extreme heat on mass-gathering sporting events: Implications for Australia and other countries

OBJECTIVES

As temperatures increase across the globe due to climate change, human exposure to extreme heat is a public health challenge. During sporting events, athletes, officials, spectators, and staff are at risk of heat stress and resulting illness. The objective of this review was to explore the impact of heat on the health outcomes of these groups and the wider health system and discuss implications for outdoor mass-gathering sporting events in Australia.

DESIGN

A systematic review was undertaken to identify literature published from 2010 to 2023.

METHODS

Seven databases were searched: Web of Science, SportDiscus, Scopus, Medline, CINAHL, Emcare, and PsychInfo, for relevant key search terms such as heatwave, heat stress, extreme heat, stadium, arena, sports facilit*, sport, athletic, and Olympic. An inductive thematic analysis was undertaken. Articles were quality checked using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools and data were extracted, tabulated, and synthesized.

RESULTS

Forty papers were included in the final analysis: 17 quantitative, and 23 descriptive and qualitative (including reviews). Health outcomes explored across the literature included exertional heat illness, exertional heat stroke, hyperthermia, and general heat related illness. Six recommendation themes emerged: planning, mitigation strategies, medical, policy, research, and education.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of heat on health outcomes during sporting events is significant, and should be considered by individuals, coaches, officials, and organizers before, during, and after mass-gathering sporting events. These findings can inform evidence-based preparedness strategies to protect the health of those attending and competing in mass-gathering sporting events now and into the future.

Current and Future Effects of Climate Change on Airborne Allergens

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Delineation of the impact of elevated carbon dioxide and concomitant global warming on airborne allergens is performed.

RECENT FINDINGS

European tree pollen trends in general showed earlier start and end dates and increased total pollen release, with some differences both in locale and among species. Earlier flowering was also seen with grasses and weeds. In the case of some boreal trees, flowering was delayed due to a pre-seasonal requirement for necessary accumulated chilling temperature to achieve bud-set. Anthropogenic climate change induced rise in temperature and CO2 levels has resulted in demonstrable increases in aeroallergens. This has been most dramatic in tree pollen annual load, but also seen with grasses and weeds. Collected data is greatest for the Northern Hemisphere, especially the European continent, with supporting data from North America and Australia.

Physical Literacy in the Context of Climate Change: Is There a Need for Further Refinement of the Concept?

The concept of physical literacy (PL) has witnessed enormous popularity in recent years and has undergone substantial theoretical evolvement during the last 2 decades. However, the research field pertaining to PL has not yet initiated discussions around the challenges of climate change and the alignment with conceptualizations of planetary health. Therefore, we argue that the consideration of an "ecological domain" for individual physical activity, in the form of ecological awareness, would further evolve the concept. We illustrate how to potentially integrate adjustments within the most frequent PL definitions of the field (eg, those in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, the United States, or by the International Physical Literacy Association) without questioning the entire integrity of these elaborate conceptualizations. An ecological domain of PL would not only interact with the postulated physical, cognitive, psychological/affective, and social domains of PL but also have important implications for the (re)design of interventions and practices in physical activity contexts. We call the scientific community, both on national and international scales, to intensify the discussions and initiate a research agenda involving an "ecological domain" of PL.

How can outdoor sports protect themselves against climate change-related health risks? - A prevention model based on an expert Delphi study

OBJECTIVES

To systematically develop an adaptation model to reduce climate change-related health risks for outdoor athletes.

DESIGN

Delphi Method study.

METHODS

A classic asynchronous Delphi study was conducted with a total of three survey rounds. 24 experts from the eight largest outdoor sport associations by membership in the German Olympic Sports Confederation were included as well as 24 medical experts with expertise in sport medicine, internal medicine, allergology, dermatology, infectiology, or toxicology. Based on open-ended questions, panelists were asked to consider prevention measures for sport organizations and clubs. Free text responses were analyzed by qualitative content analysis according to Mayring.

RESULTS

Experts recommended establishing the following eight fields of prevention measures: technical and structural measures; organizational measures; personalized measures; basic, advanced, and continuing education; concepts of action, warning concepts, and financial concepts; cooperation and coordination; campaigns; and evaluation measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The pyramid model presented in this study systematizes possible sport-specific adaptation measures on climate change by empirical aggregation of knowledge from scientists, sport organizations, clubs, trainers, and professional athletes. To assess the effectiveness of these prevention measures, sport organizations may incorporate them not only into broader operations but also everyday training routines.

Menthol mouth rinsing and performance in elite football referees in the heat: A study protocol for a randomized crossover trial

Background

Within professional European competitions, matches can be played in extreme environmental temperatures, ranging from -5 °C to +30 °C in different countries. Furthermore, the World Cups are usually played in the summer months, when temperatures can exceed 35 °C, increasing physiological stress. Practical and cost-effective cooling strategies may be implemented to help players and referees to cope with exercising in the heat. No study has evaluated the effect of non-thermal internal cooling techniques regarding performance responses on elite football referees, so far. This study aims to analyse the effects of a menthol mouth rinse regarding physical, physiological, and perceptual performance in elite male football referees, during a 90-min football protocol in the heat.

Methods

At least thirteen male football referees will be recruited to perform two intermittent football protocols, separated by no less than 7 days. After passing the eligibility criteria, the participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 2 beverages: (1) intervention - menthol solution 0.01% and (2) placebo - noncaloric berry-flavored solution, both at room temperature. The beverages will be given before warm-up (pre-cooling) and at the half-time (per-cooling). The trials will follow a randomized counterbalanced crossover design, single blinded, and will take place in indoor facilities, with Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) > 30 °C, at the same time of the day to control for circadian variations.

Impact of the project

The results of this study are expected to determine whether mouth rinsing a menthol solution before and during a football exercise protocol performed in the heat will alter perceptual measures and help ease physiological strain and attenuate performance decrements in elite male football referees, comparing to a non-cooling strategy. Thus, we can be closer to defining nutritional strategies of internal cooling that may be an advantage for the performance of the football referees in the heat.

Trial registration

www.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05632692 registered on 20 November 2022.

Heat Illness Requiring Emergency Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: A Case Study Series

Extreme heat and hot weather has a negative impact on human health and society. Global warming has resulted in an increase in the frequency and duration of heatwaves. Heat-related illnesses are a significant negative consequence of high temperatures and can be life-threatening medical emergencies. The severity of the symptoms can depend on the pre-existing medical conditions and vary from mild headaches to severe cases that can lead to coma and death. The risk of heat-related illness may be higher for people experiencing homelessness due to a lack of access to cool places and water, and the complex interactions between mental illness, medications and substance use disorder. This paper presents two cases of people experiencing homelessness who were admitted to the emergency department of a hospital in Sydney, Australia during a heatwave in November 2020. Both cases were adult males with known risk factors for heat-related illness including hypertension and schizophrenia (Case One) and hepatitis C, cirrhosis, and alcohol use disorder (Case Two). These cases show that severe weather can not only be detrimental to homeless people's health but can also cause a significant economic toll, evident by the $70,184 AUD expenditure on the care for these two cases. This case report highlights the requirement to determine the risk of heat-related illness to people experiencing homelessness and need to protect this vulnerable population from weather-related illness and death.

Design and Application of Sports-Oriented Public Health Big Data Analysis Platform

People's pursuit of public health continues to improve with the rapid economic development. Physical activity is an important way to achieve public health. Excessive physical activity intensity and uncomfortable forms of physical activity can affect people's physical and mental health. Reasonable physical activity intensity and reasonable physical activity form will be beneficial to public health. People need to choose the corresponding sports mode according to physical function parameters and mental health parameters. However, it is difficult to understand the relationship between physical activity patterns and public health-related parameters, which limits people to establish reasonable exercise patterns. This research uses big data technology to design an intelligent sports-oriented public health data analysis scheme. It mainly uses MLCNN method and LSTM method to extract physical function parameter features, mental health parameter features, and sports parameter features. The research results show that the MLCNN method and LSTM can accurately extract and predict the parametric features related to sports and public health. The largest relative mean error is only 2.52%, which is the predicted value of the physical performance parameter characteristics. The smallest prediction error is also 2.27%, and this part of the relative error comes from the prediction of sports parameters.