The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences
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Maladaptive exercise in eating disorders : lifetime and current impact on mental health and treatment seeking.
No full textBACKGROUND: Many patients with eating disorders report exercise as a central symptom of their illness-as a way to compensate for food intake, prevent weight-gain, and/or reduce negative affect. Previous findings show associations between maladaptive exercise and more severe eating disorder pathology, higher risk for relapse, other co-morbid symptoms, and worse treatment outcome. METHODS: In this study, we included 8252 participants with eating disorders and investigated associations between maladaptive exercise (both lifetime and current) and ED pathology, illness duration, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation, and treatment seeking patterns in individuals with lifetime maladaptive exercise. Participants were included via the Swedish site of the large global study The Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) and completed measures of both lifetime and current symptomatology. RESULTS: Results indicate that lifetime maladaptive exercise is associated with higher prevalence of lifetime depression and anxiety and with patients more often receiving treatment, although these results need to be investigated in future studies. Current maladaptive exercise was associated with more severe ED symptoms, and higher levels of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive traits, and suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings point to the complexities of exercise as an eating disorder symptom and the need for clearly assessing and acknowledging this, as well as tailoring interventions to treat this symptom to achieve sustainable recovery
Relational vulnerability in motherhood-an existential perspective on pain and exhaustion among women.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Stress-related ill-health like pain and exhaustion are demanding public health problems in Europe. In Sweden, women are particularly at risk to develop stress-related ill-health during a period in life that coincides with child-rearing years. When entering motherhood, Swedish women's sick leave substantially increases. Yet, motherhood is rarely acknowledged in clinical encounters concerning pain and exhaustion although women suffer from these ailments more often than men. To incorporate motherhood as an existential dimension of health in the care of women living with pain and exhaustion might alleviate women's suffering. But knowledge on women's experiences of motherhood and health is scarce. Therefore, the aim of the study is to reach a deeper understanding of how women suffering from long-lasting pain and exhaustion experience their health in relation to motherhood. METHODS: Ricoeur's interpretation theory has been applied to analyze 27 phenomenological interviews with 14 mothers suffering from long-lasting pain and exhaustion. RESULTS: These women's experiences shed light on how closely motherhood is interwoven with the experience of their health and suffering: The women's suffering seems to be rooted in a relational vulnerability that has been uncovered during motherhood. Further, the women suffer from a burden of difficult life experiences and inner conflicts. Reconciliation with life is possible when women find an existential shelter, which offers ways to relate to their suffering making the own suffering more bearable
Characteristics of mental skills interventions in dance : a mixed methods systematic review protocol.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Dancers are expected to navigate major challenges in their careers that might take a toll on their physical and mental health. To address underlying factors that might increase dancers' mental and physical health difficulties, research suggests the systematic use of techniques to build mental skills that can reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors against the challenges dancers encounter. However, existing mental skills training interventions in dance present a lack of consistency in design, content and duration, making it difficult to provide evidence-based recommendations. Hence, dance researchers and practitioners would benefit from a mixed methods systematic review (MMSR) of the why, what and how of these interventions. Adopting tools such as the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) can aid this endeavour by describing replicable aspects of interventions, thus offering dance researchers suggestions on how to understand, appraise and report intervention characteristics and processes in dance. Therefore, this protocol outlines a MMSR that will employ TIDieR to identify and assess characteristics of mental skills interventions in dance. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic search will be undertaken in Psycinfo, Medline, Embase, Sportdiscus, Web of Science and the first 30 pages of GoogleScholar. Following the search, two reviewers will independently screen identified studies in Covidence. One reviewer will extract data using the TIDieR framework and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for quality appraisal, while a second reviewer will check a sample of extracted studies for accuracy. A convergent integrated synthesis will be conducted where quantitative and qualitative evidence will be integrated by qualitising the quantitative data into textual descriptions. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: There is no requirement for ethical approval for this systematic review as no empirical data will be collected. The findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication in a scientific journal and presentations in several different forums (eg, a dance psychology network, at scientific and applied conferences). PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42024537249
Mental health symptom burden in elite ice hockey players and its association with self-reported concussive events
No full textBackground: Some studies suggest that elite athletes experience adverse mental health symptoms at rates commensurate with the general population, despite the well-established buffering effects of exercise. Within contact sports, such as ice-hockey, recurrent concussions may be a source of this discrepancy. We compared the point prevalence of various mental health outcomes with other athlete and general population samples, as well as investigated their relationship with concussive events. Methods: We surveyed 648 active ice hockey players from the top two men's tiers and the top women's tier in Swedish elite ice hockey on lifetime concussive events, hazardous alcohol use, problematic social media use, depression, anxiety, and burnout. Results: Hazardous alcohol use was more prevalent among male ice hockey players (29.5% AUDIT-C ≥ 6) compared to other athlete and general population samples, while other mental health symptoms were less common. Female ice hockey players reported higher hazardous alcohol consumption (36.4% AUDIT-C ≥ 4) than another athlete sample and more burnout (19.1%) than the general population. After adjusting for covariates, athletes with 3+ concussive events had 2.1 times the odds of elevated depressive symptoms and 3.5 times the odds of elevated burnout symptoms compared to those with no concussion history. Treating lifetime concussive events as a continuous predictor revealed positive correlations with all outcomes except for hazardous alcohol use. Conclusions: Mental health outcome rates among active elite ice hockey athletes differ from those of other athlete and general population samples, whilst concussive events may be particularly linked to elevated symptoms of depression and burnout.Correction published in BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2024 Dec 16;16(1):241. DOI: 10.1186/s13102-024-01039-5. PMID: 39681865</p
Observational study of the effects of maximal oxygen uptake on cognitive function and performance during prolonged military exercise.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Military operations place high demands on many cognitive functions, and stressful events characterise the military work environment. The study aimed to examine the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness, stress response, cognitive function and military performance during prolonged military exercise. METHODS: 66 army cadets were included in the study. The subjects participated in a 4.5-day military winter training in northern Sweden. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was estimated from a cycle test. Cognitive tests (design fluency, DF test) and measurements of heart rate variability (HRV) were conducted before and after the exercise. Assessment of military performance as an individual soldier (P-ind) and performance as a team leader (P-lead) was carried out during the final day of the exercise. Pearson's coefficient of correlation (r) and Spearman's rho were used to evaluate correlations, and linear regressions were used to examine the relationships between VO2max, HRV, DF test scores and military performance. Simple mediation analyses were performed with DF test scores and military performance (P-ind, P-lead) as dependent variables, VO2max as a predictor and HRV as a mediator. RESULTS: Post-exercise HRV was related to military performance (P-ind: r=0.40, p<0.01; P-lead: r=0.32, p<0.05). Absolute VO2max was positively correlated with P-ind (r=0.28, p<0.05), and the effect of VO2max on military performance was mediated by HRV. Post-test DF scores were negatively correlated with post-exercise HRV (total correct designs: r=-0.26, p<0.05; total incorrect designs: r=-0.27, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that high absolute VO2max predicts military performance by reducing the stress response to prolonged military exercise. Aerobic capacity may provide a meaningful effect on the ability to preserve military performance. Future studies need to identify thresholds for this capacity. PRE-REGISTRATION: The protocol was retrospectively registered at OSF (https://osf.io/), registration DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/ND6XM
High time to enhance dancer welfare : a call to action to improve safeguarding and abuse prevention in dance.
No full textWhile there is a lack of research into abuse in elite dance, numerous allegations of emotional, sexual and physical abuse of dancers can be found anecdotally in the media, legal convictions and personal accounts. As more dancers speak out, the scale of the problem within preprofessional schools and professional companies is becoming apparent. Accordingly, effective safeguarding mechanisms for preventing, identifying and reporting abuse are urgently needed. This viewpoint is intended to raise health professionals' awareness of factors contributing to abusive practices found in dance environments and the potential clinical implications of abuse to dancers' health and well-being. We also call for research and policy engagement on safeguarding and abuse prevention designed and implemented in partnership with stakeholders, aiming to promote safe and positive dance environments for all
The Effect of Dietary Nitrate on the Oral Microbiome and Salivary Biomarkers in Individuals with High Blood Pressure.
No full textBACKGROUND: Green leafy vegetables (GLV) contain inorganic nitrate, an anion with potential prebiotic effects on the oral microbiome. However, it remains unclear whether GLV and pharmacological supplementation [potassium nitrate (PN)] with a nitrate salt induce similar effects on the oral microbiome. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the effect of GLV with PN supplementation on the oral microbiome composition and salivary biomarkers in individuals with high blood pressure. METHODS: Seventy individuals were randomly allocated to 3 different groups to follow a 5-wk dietary intervention. Group 1 consumed 300 mg/d of nitrate in form of GLV. Group 2 consumed pills with 300 mg/d of PN and low-nitrate vegetables. Group 3 consumed pills with potassium chloride (placebo: PLAC) and low-nitrate vegetables. The oral microbiome composition and salivary biomarkers of oral health were analyzed before and after the dietary intervention. RESULTS: The GLV and PN groups showed similar microbial changes, probably nitrate-dependent, including an increase in the abundance of Neisseria, Capnocytophaga, Campylobacter species, and a decrease in Veillonella, Megasphaera, Actinomyces, and Eubacterium species after the treatment. Increased abundance of Rothia species, and reduced abundance of Streptococcus, Prevotella, Actinomyces, and Mogibacterium species were observed in the GLV group, which could be nitrate-independent. GLV and PN treatments increased salivary pH, but only GLV treatment showed an increase in the salivary buffering capacity and a reduction of lactate. CONCLUSION: The combination of nitrate-dependent and nitrate-independent microbial changes in the GLV group has a stronger effect to potentially improve oral health biomarkers compared with PN
Assessing lower extremity stiffness in countermovement jumps : a critical analysis of the differences between calculation methods.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Stiffness (k) describes a material's resistance to deformation and is useful for understanding neuromuscular function, performance, and injury risk. The aim of this study is to compare the lower limb stiffness method (kLLS), which uses only force plate data, with methods combining force plate and motion capture data to calculate stiffness during the eccentric phase of a countermovement. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twelve resistance-trained males: age 24.9 (4.4) years, height 1.81 (0.05) m, weight 88.2 (14) kg) performed three maximal effort countermovement jumps (CMJ). Data were collected synchronously using three-dimensional (3D) kinematic and kinetic data (dual force plate setup). Lower limb stiffness (z), joint stiffness (x, y, and z), and leg stiffness (linear, sagittal plane, and 3D) were calculated for the eccentric phase of all CMs. RESULTS: kLLS showed high concurrent validity with strong correlations to kinetic-kinematic methods (r = 0.90-0.97, p < 0.05). A linear mixed model revealed no significant differences in k-values between kLLS and leg stiffness, indicating high concurrent validity. DISCUSSION: kLLS offers valid and valuable information affecting performance, injury risk, and return-to-sport decisions. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that kLLS is a valid method for calculating stiffness in CMJs and equal to 3D leg stiffness
Trans People Struggling To Be Human in Sports and Exercise: Passing, Mediating, and Challenging Cis- and Heteronormativity
No full textThis study explores how trans individuals struggle to make themselves intelligible as humans in a cis- and heteronormative context of sports and exercise. Ten trans people with present or prior experience in sports and exercise were interviewed. The analysis draws from Butler’s idea of trans people’s exclusion as a question of unintelligibility instead of oppression. The study demonstrates three overreaching ways trans people make themselves discursively intelligible as humans: by passing as cis, by coming out as trans yet mediating potential inconvenience this may pose on others, and by coming out as trans paired with challenging cis- and heteronormativity. We argue that practices aligning to intelligibility as humans are key for trans people in sports, exercise, and possibly in other walks of life
Exploring the experiences and perceptions of coaches, athletes, and integrated support teams towards the management of three national Paralympic teams.
No full textThis study explored the experiences and perceptions of coaches, athletes, and integrated support teams towards the management of three Paralympic teams across North America and Europe. Six focus groups with athletes, three interviews with head coaches, and 10 interviews with support team members were conducted and analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis. Our analysis resulted in three overarching themes to portray the coaches' role and behaviours in managing their (1) athletes, (2) integrated support teams, and (3) team as a collective unit. All teams were made up of a diverse group of athletes that required individualized considerations regarding age, finances, and disability. Coaches were successful when they fostered autonomy and managed interpersonal conflict by utilizing their integrated support teams to foster cohesiveness. This study provides an in-depth view of the role of the coach in managing national parasport teams by incorporating multiple perspectives from three teams around the world