scholarly journals Salivary Immunoglobulin A and Upper Respiratory Symptoms During 5 Months of Training in Elite Tetraplegic Athletes

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof A. Leicht ◽  
Nicolette C. Bishop ◽  
Thomas A.W. Paulson ◽  
Katy E. Griggs ◽  
Victoria L. Goosey-Tolfrey

Purpose:Altered autonomic innervation in tetraplegic individuals has been shown to depress certain immune parameters at rest and alter exercise-related salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) responses. The purpose of this study was to examine resting sIgA responses as a function of training load and episodes of upper respiratory symptoms (URS) in elite tetraplegic athletes.Methods:Resting saliva samples were obtained from 14 tetraplegic athletes at 12 predefined time points over 5 months and analyzed for sIgA. Occurrence of self-reported URS and training load was recorded throughout the study’s duration. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between sIgA responses and training load. Furthermore, the relationships between sIgA responses and URS occurrence were examined.Results:sIgA secretion rate was negatively correlated with training load (P = .04), which only accounted for 8% of the variance. No significant relationships were found between sIgA responses and subsequent URS occurrence. Finally, sIgA responses did not differ between athletes with and without recorded URS during the study period.Conclusions:In line with findings in ablebodied athletes, negative relationships between sIgA secretion rate and training load were found in tetraplegic athletes. This may explain some of the higher infection risk in wheelchair athletes with a high training load, which has been previously observed in paraplegic athletes. However, the nonsignificant relationship between sIgA responses and URS occurrence brings into question the use of sIgA as a prognostic tool for the early detection of URS episodes in the studied population.

Author(s):  
Thomas Sawczuk ◽  
Ben Jones ◽  
Mitchell Welch ◽  
Clive Beggs ◽  
Sean Scantlebury ◽  
...  

Purpose: To evaluate the relative importance and predictive ability of salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) measures with regards to upper respiratory illness (URI) in youth athletes. Methods: Over a 38-week period, 22 youth athletes (age = 16.8 [0.5] y) provided daily symptoms of URI and 15 fortnightly passive drool saliva samples, from which s-IgA concentration and secretion rate were measured. Kernel-smoothed bootstrapping generated a balanced data set with simulated data points. The random forest algorithm was used to evaluate the relative importance (RI) and predictive ability of s-IgA concentration and secretion rate with regards to URI symptoms present on the day of saliva sampling (URIday), within 2 weeks of sampling (URI2wk), and within 4 weeks of sampling (URI4wk). Results: The percentage deviation from average healthy s-IgA concentration was the most important feature for URIday (median RI 1.74, interquartile range 1.41–2.07). The average healthy s-IgA secretion rate was the most important feature for URI4wk (median RI 0.94, interquartile range 0.79–1.13). No feature was clearly more important than any other when URI symptoms were identified within 2 weeks of sampling. The values for median area under the curve were 0.68, 0.63, and 0.65 for URIday, URI2wk, and URI4wk, respectively. Conclusions: The RI values suggest that the percentage deviation from average healthy s-IgA concentration may be used to evaluate the short-term risk of URI, while the average healthy s-IgA secretion rate may be used to evaluate the long-term risk. However, the results show that neither s-IgA concentration nor secretion rate can be used to accurately predict URI onset within a 4-week window in youth athletes.


Author(s):  
Caoimhe Tiernan ◽  
Thomas Comyns ◽  
Mark Lyons ◽  
Alan M Nevill ◽  
Giles Warrington

This study aimed to investigate the association between training load indices and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) across different lag periods in elite soccer players. Internal training load was collected from 15 elite soccer players over one full season (40 weeks). Acute, chronic, Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR), Exponentially Weighted Moving Averages (EWMA) ACWR, 2, 3 and 4-week cumulative load, training strain and training monotony were calculated on a rolling weekly basis. Players completed a daily illness log, documenting any signs and symptoms, to help determine an URTI. Multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze the associations between training load indices and URTIs across different lag periods (1 to 7-days). The results found a significant association between 2-week cumulative load and an increased likelihood of a player contracting an URTI 3 days later (Odds Ratio, 95% Confidence Interval: OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 0.026-1.431). Additionally, a significant association was found between 3-week cumulative load and a players’ increased risk of contracting an URTI 4 days later (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 0.013–1.006). These results indicate that accumulated periods of high training load (2- and 3-week) associated with an increased risk of a player contracting an URTI, which may lead to performance decrements, missed training sessions or even competitions.


2001 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Páris Ali Ramadan ◽  
Francisco Barreto de Araújo ◽  
Mario Ferreira Junior

CONTEXT: Routine immunization of groups at high risk for influenza has been progressively implemented as a matter of Brazilian public health policy. Although the benefits of the vaccination for healthy young adults are still controversial, it has been offered yearly to hundreds of thousands of Brazilian workers, generally as part of wellness initiatives in the workplace. OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of subjects that accepted or refused to be vaccinated against influenza and to report on respiratory symptoms in both groups, one year after the campaign date. DESIGN: A prospective observational study. SETTING: Workers at a subsidiary of an international bank in São Paulo, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 124 persons that did not accept and 145 that voluntarily accepted the vaccine completed 12 months of follow-up. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Data concerning gender, age, tobacco use, and any history of chronic respiratory illness such as asthma, bronchitis, rhinitis, and repetitive upper-respiratory infections, were recorded at the time of vaccination. After that, workers were asked monthly by questionnaire or telephone about respiratory symptoms, days of work lost and medical consultations. RESULTS: The results showed statistically significant differences regarding age (P = 0.004) with the vaccinated group (V) being younger than the non-vaccinated (NV) one, and with reference to previous repetitive upper-respiratory infections being higher among the V group (P < 0.0001). During the follow-up, the V group reported more occurrences of upper respiratory symptoms (P < 0.0001), due to both non-influenza (P < 0.0001) and influenza-like illness (P = 0.045). Differences were also found between V and NV groups concerning days off work and number of medical consultations due to upper-respiratory symptoms and non-influenza illness. Gender and history of repetitive upper-respiratory infections were the best predictors of influenza-like illness-related events. CONCLUSIONS: The making of previous reference to repetitive upper-respiratory infections was a major difference between those who accepted or rejected the vaccine. The vaccination itself was not sufficient to reduce the number of occurrences of respiratory symptoms and related absenteeism to levels similar to those found among non-vaccinated people.


2017 ◽  
Vol 166 (3) ◽  
pp. 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Libman ◽  
Diane M. Brockmeyer ◽  
Howard S. Gold

2003 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 579-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Manjarrez ◽  
D. P. Rosete ◽  
M. Rincón ◽  
J. Villalba ◽  
A. Cravioto ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
David P. Bui ◽  
Esther A. Kukielka ◽  
Erin F. Blau ◽  
Lindsay K. Tompkins ◽  
K. Leann Bing ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: The aim of the study was to assess occupational health effects 1 month after responding to a natural gas pipeline explosion. Methods: First responders to a pipeline explosion in Kentucky were interviewed about pre- and post-response health symptoms, post-response health care, and physical exertion and personal protective equipment (PPE) use during the response. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between several risk factors and development of post-response symptoms. Results: Among 173 first responders involved, 105 (firefighters [58%], emergency medical services [19%], law enforcement [10%], and others [12%]) were interviewed. Half (53%) reported at least 1 new or worsening symptom, including upper respiratory symptoms (39%), headache (18%), eye irritation (17%), and lower respiratory symptoms (16%). The majority (79%) of symptomatic responders did not seek post-response care. Compared with light-exertion responders, hard-exertion responders (48%) had significantly greater odds of upper respiratory symptoms (aOR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.25–7.50). Forty-four percent of responders and 77% of non-firefighter responders reported not using any PPE. Conclusions: Upper respiratory symptoms were common among first responders of a natural gas pipeline explosion and associated with hard-exertion activity. Emergency managers should ensure responders are trained in, equipped with, and properly use PPE during these incidents and encourage responders to seek post-response health care when needed.


Author(s):  
Nabaneeta Dash ◽  
Reshmi Aby ◽  
Madhan Kumar ◽  
Asha Mary Abraham ◽  
Winsley Rose

Dengue remains a major problem in the tropics. Several Asian countries have reported an increasing trend in the proportion of infants with dengue fever. However, most studies are limited to case reports or small case series from isolated outbreaks. We planned this study to look at clinico-laboratory profile, outcome, and predictors of severity in a large cohort of infants over a decade. Electronic medical records of infants admitted at a tertiary center of South India, with laboratory confirmed dengue infection between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed. Diagnosis was based on detection of NS-1 antigen and/or immunoglobulin M antibody against DENV(dengue virus) or positive DENV RNA polymerase chain reaction in infants presenting with acute febrile illness and clinical features consistent with dengue. Of 395 children with dengue admitted during study period, 99 (25%) were infants. A cyclical incidence pattern was noted, with higher cases in alternate years. Fever (99%) was most common, followed by gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea—28%) and upper respiratory symptoms (cough, coryza—22%). Fifty-three infants had severe dengue, and 39 had shock. Fourteen children had multiorgan dysfunction syndrome, and 13 died. Infants with severe dengue were older than those with nonsevere disease, had lower serum albumin and greater frequency of severe thrombocytopenia, and had coagulopathy. On multivariable analysis, low serum albumin predicted development of severe dengue [P = 0.003, odds ratio 12.4 (95% confidence interval: 2.42–63.7)]. Dengue in infants may be challenging to recognize because of its undifferentiated presentation, with gastrointestinal and upper respiratory symptoms that are similar to other viral illness. Severe dengue is common in this sample, and lower serum albumin at presentation was predictive of severe disease.


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