Serum Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin and Cortisol Concentrations are Associated With Overreaching During Strenuous Military Training

Tanskanen, Minna; Kyröläinen, Heikki; Uusitalo, Arja; Huovinen, Jukka; Nissilä, Juuso; Kinnunen, Hannu; Atalay, Mustafa; Häkkinen, Keijo

doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181c1fa5d

Cited by 57 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…With regard to physical strain, acute increase in cortisol has been observed in workloads exceeding > 60% maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2max ) [22] even though psychological stress may accumulate the stress response during lower intensities [23]. Many studies have shown increases in basal levels of cortisol and α-amylase as a response to both acute and chronic stress [2,10,11,24,25]. Taverniers and de Boeck [26] have found a correlation between subjective distress and saAA as well as significant increases in saAA during a handgun practice in a simulated real-world environment with a sensation of probable IJOMEH 2018;31(2)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of occupational physical load during 6-month international crisis management operation

Pihlainen

Santtila

Vasankari

et al. 2017

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

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Objectives: Generally, operational military duties are associated with a variety of stressors, such as prolonged physical activity (PA). However, limited information is available on the occupational workload or changes in PA during international military operations. Thus, the aim of the study was to investigate the changes in body composition, stress biomarkers, PA, and heart rate (HR) responses of 79 male soldiers during a 6-month international crisis management operation. Material and Methods: Measurements were conducted 3 times in South-Lebanon during the operation. Body composition was assessed by the bioelectrical impedance method. Blood samples were analyzed for serum testosterone, sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), cortisol and insulin-like growth factor. Saliva sampling was used for analyzing stress biomarkers, cortisol and α-amylase. Heart rate and physical activity were monitored by a recordable belt and tri-axial accelerometer, respectively. Results: Increases in muscle mass (39.2±4.1 vs. 39.5±4.2 kg, p < 0.05) and testosterone (15.9±4.6 vs. 17.2±4 nmol/l, p < 0.01), and reductions in PA variables (e.g., daily step count 9472±2547 vs. 8321±2720, p < 0.05) were observed during the first half (i.e., PRE-MID) of the study. The increase in muscle mass remained significant during the latter half (PRE-POST, 39.2±4.1 vs. 39.6±4.4 kg, p < 0.05), but also fat mass increased (MID-POST, 10.6±4.6 vs. 11.0±4.7 kg, p < 0.05) while SHBG (MID-POST, 31.8±12.1 vs. 26.6±13.2 nmol/l, p < 0.01) and cortisol (MID-POST, 445±116 vs. 400±123 nmol/l, p < 0.05) decreased. With the exception of increased concentration of salivary α-amylase (PRE-POST, 36.5±33.7 vs. 55.1±39.7 U/ml), the acute stress biomarkers and HR responses remained unchanged. Furthermore, the low quantity of PA, low HR values and subjective ratings of exertion refer to rather light physical workload. Conclusions: Due to the operatively calm nature of the working environment, the present soldiers did not express any significant signs of physical overload during the study period. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(2): 185 -197

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of occupational physical load during 6-month international crisis management operation

Pihlainen

Santtila

Vasankari

et al. 2017

Int J Occup Med Environ Health

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“…Under normal circumstances, activation of these physiological functions is expected to occur; however, exposure to particularly intense, or long periods of occupational-related stress over multiple days, can exacerbate and dysregulate the HPA-axis and SAM system response resulting in the sustained elevation of cortisol (Dabrowski 2008;Wolkow et al 2015) and HR (Meier-Ewert et al 2004;van Leeuwen et al 2009). Chronic dysregulation of these systems has been associated with adverse health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and depression (Dabrowski 2008;Faulkner et al 2014;Mackin and Young 2004;Silverman and Sternberg 2012;Tanskanen et al 2011), both prevalent in firefighting populations Carey et al 2011;Cook and Mitchell 2013;Kales et al 2007;Wolkow et al 2014). As occupational stressors pose a potential risk to firefighters' health, there is a need to understand their effect on neuroendocrine responses in order to inform future evidence-based recommendations aimed at ensuring the safety of firefighting personnel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of sleep restriction while performing simulated physical firefighting work on cortisol and heart rate responses

Wolkow

Aisbett

Reynolds

et al. 2015

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

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Findings highlight the protective role an 8-h sleep opportunity between shifts of firefighting work has on preserving normal cortisol levels when compared to a 4-h sleep opportunity which resulted in elevated afternoon and evening cortisol. Given the adverse health outcomes associated with chronically high cortisol, especially later in the day, future research should examine how prolonged exposure to firefighting work (including restricted sleep) affects firefighters' cortisol levels long term. Furthermore, monitoring cortisol levels post-deployment will determine the minimum recovery time firefighters need to safely return to the fire-ground.

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“…Finnish military training has been observed to improve aerobic [21,26] and muscular fitness [6,27] and to induce beneficial changes in body composition [20,27]. However, one third of the conscripts were classified as overreached at the end of an 8-week military basic training period (BT) [31]. In the second half of BT, increased somatic symptoms of overreaching and several physiological and biochemical markers indicated that the training load was not well tolerated by all the conscripts, 33% of whom were classified as overreached [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, aerobic fitness has been found to be an important component of soldiers' performance as it can influence an ability to sustain the training load during BT [13,30], while poor physical fitness and overweight increases the risk of injury and illness leading to limited duty days during BT [13,15,31]. In addition, while the risk of injuries and premature discharge from the military seems to be highest during the first weeks of military training [13,17,19,23], the physical load of training at this stage has to be relatively low and optimal in relation to prior physical activity of the conscripts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to enhance physical fitness and to avoid overreaching and overtraining syndrome, it has been suggested that conscripts could be divided into different training groups according to their aerobic fitness level [31] or simply based on BMI, rather than aerobic fitness level or a combination of these parameters [30]. However, measuring VO 2 max by fitness testing is time consuming and not practical for a large group of subjects, for example during the call-up of new recruits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimation of aerobic fitness among young men without exercise test

Tanskanen

Kyröläinen

Santtila

et al. 2015

Biomedical Human Kinetics

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SummaryStudy aim: to develop and estimate the validity of non-exercise methods to predict VO 2 max among young male conscripts entering military service in order to divide them into the different physical training groups. Material and methods: fifty males (age 19.7 ± 0.3 years) reported their physical activity before military service by IPAQ and SIVAQ questionnaires. Furthermore, Jackson's non-exercise method was used to estimate VO 2 max. Body mass and height were measured, body mass index calculated and VO 2 max measured directly in a maximal treadmill test. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups. The results of the Group 1 (N = 25) were used to develop a regression equation to estimate VO 2 max. The results of the Group 2 (N = 25) were used to evaluate the validity of the developed non-exercise methods and Jackson's non-exercise methods to estimate VO 2 max by Bland and Altman plot. The validity was further evaluated by comparing the results to 12-minute running test performed by 877 male conscripts (age 19.6 ± 0.2 years). Results: the developed models explained 68-74% of the variation in VO 2 max. Mean difference between directly measured and estimated VO 2 max was not significant, while Jackson's method overestimated VO 2 max (p < 0.001). Both developed models were equally valid to divide conscripts into tertile group of fitness. However, 5% of the conscripts were classified into the highest fitness group based on both methods, but they were actually in the lowest fitness group based on a running test. Conclusion: in practice, these findings suggest that developed methods can be used as a tool to divide conscripts into different fitness groups in the very beginning of their military service.

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Serum Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin and Cortisol Concentrations are Associated With Overreaching During Strenuous Military Training

Cited by 57 publications

References 31 publications

Evaluation of occupational physical load during 6-month international crisis management operation

Evaluation of occupational physical load during 6-month international crisis management operation

The impact of sleep restriction while performing simulated physical firefighting work on cortisol and heart rate responses

Estimation of aerobic fitness among young men without exercise test

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