Kerry S. Kuehl

The PHLAME (Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models' Effects) firefighter study: outcomes of two models of behavior change.

Objective: PHLAME’s (Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models’ Effects) objective was to assess and compare two means to promote healthy lifestyles. Methods: Prospective trial among 599 firefighters randomized by station to 1) team-centered curriculum, 2) one-on-one motivational interviewing (MI), and 3) controls. Assessment included dietary behavior, physical activity, weight, and general well-being at baseline and 12 months. Program effects were determined using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) based approach, and models for relationships were evaluated with path analysis. Results: Both interventions were acceptable and delivered with high fidelity. The team and MI programs increased fruit and vegetable consumption (P < 0.01 and 0.05, respectively) and general well-being (P < 0.01). Significantly less weight gain occurred in both (P < 0.05). A cross-sectional model was consistent with mediation differing between interventions. Conclusions: Both a team-centered and individual-oriented intervention promoted healthy behaviors. The scripted team curriculum is innovative, exportable, and may enlist influences not accessed with individual formats.

Efficacy of tart cherry juice in reducing muscle pain during running: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundLong distance running causes acute muscle damage resulting in inflammation and decreased force production. Endurance athletes use NSAIDs during competition to prevent or reduce pain, which carries the risk of adverse effects. Tart cherries, rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may have a protective effect to reduce muscle damage and pain during strenuous exercise. This study aimed to assess the effects of tart cherry juice as compared to a placebo cherry drink on pain among runners in a long distance relay race.MethodsThe design was a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial. Fifty-four healthy runners (36 male, 18 female; 35.8 ± 9.6 yrs) ran an average of 26.3 ± 2.5 km over a 24 hour period. Participants ingested 355 mL bottles of tart cherry juice or placebo cherry drink twice daily for 7 days prior to the event and on the day of the race. Participants assessed level of pain on a standard 100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at baseline, before the race, and after the race.ResultsWhile both groups reported increased pain after the race, the cherry juice group reported a significantly smaller increase in pain (12 ± 18 mm) compared to the placebo group (37 ± 20 mm) (p < .001). Participants in the cherry juice group were more willing to use the drink in the future (p < 0.001) and reported higher satisfaction with the pain reduction they attributed to the drink (p < 0.001).ConclusionsIngesting tart cherry juice for 7 days prior to and during a strenuous running event can minimize post-run muscle pain.

Drug testing athletes to prevent substance abuse: background and pilot study results of the SATURN (Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification) study.

PURPOSE To assess the deterrent effect of mandatory, random drug testing among high school (HS) athletes in a controlled setting. METHODS Two high schools, one with mandatory drug testing (DT) consent before sports participation, and a control school (C), without DT, were assessed during the 1999-2000 school year. Athletes (A) and nonathletes (NA) in each school completed confidential (A) or anonymous (NA) questionnaires developed for this study, respectively, at the beginning and end of the school year. Positive alcohol or drug tests required parent notification and mandatory counseling without team or school suspension. Thirty percent of the DT athletes were tested. Data were analyzed using the end of the school year measure, adjusted for the initial questionnaire results. Demographics of the athlete sample revealed that mean age was 15.5 years with 81.5% white, 9.6% Hispanic, 4.5% Asian, 2.6% American Indian/Native Alaskan, 1.3% African-American, and 1.3% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. RESULTS A (n = 276) and NA (n = 507) were assessed at the beginning (baseline) and at the end of the school year (A, n = 159; NA, n = 338). The past 30-day index of illicit drugs (4-fold difference) and athletic enhancing substances (3-fold difference) were lower (p < .05) among DT athletes at follow-up without difference in alcohol use. However, most drug use risk factors, including norms of use, belief in lower risk of drugs, and poorer attitudes toward the school, increased among DT athletes (p < .05). Although a reduction in the illicit drug use index was present among nonathletes at the DT school, at the end of the school year, it did not achieve statistical significance (p < .10). CONCLUSIONS Random DT may have reduced substance use among athletes. However, worsening of risk factors and small sample size suggests caution to this drug prevention approach. A larger long-term study to confirm these findings is necessary.

Metabolic myopathies: Evaluation by graded exercise testing

Exertional muscle pain and fatigue are common complaints; some patients with these symptoms have a metabolic myopathy. We have performed graded exercise testing with analysis of expired ventilation on 13 individuals with various kinds of metabolic myopathies. Their results differed from normal and reflected the underlying biochemical abnormality. Patients with disorders of the mitochondrial electron transport chain demonstrated marked limitations in aerobic metabolism and a greatly reduced maximum oxygen consumption. During intense exertion, normal individuals increase carbon dioxide generation due to buffering of lactic acid. This did not occur in patients with McArdle disease, in whom the respiratory exchange ratio (carbon dioxide production/oxygen consumption) did not rise above 1.0 at maximum exercise. These results indicated a deficit in anaerobic metabolism. Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex allows pyruvate produced from carbohydrate metabolism to enter the citric acid cycle. Patients with this enzyme deficiency showed an initially normal pattern followed by an abrupt cessation in carbohydrate dependent aerobic metabolism at higher work loads. During high-intensity exercise, progressive anaerobic metabolism was not accompanied by additional oxygen consumption. Finally, results from a patient with carnitine palmitoyl transferase deficiency revealed an early dependence on carbohydrate metabolism. The ventilatory threshold occurred at a low percentage of maximal oxygen consumption, reflecting the limited availability of lipid substrates for aerobic metabolism. Detection of some muscle metabolic abnormalities can be made on small biopsy specimens. However, definitive diagnosis of the defect nearly always requires studies on fresh or frozen muscle tissue obtained by an open biopsy. The decision on how the tissue should be processed and which metabolic studies should be performed frequently needs to be made before the biopsy is obtained. Thus, a noninvasive method to initially characterize patients with potential metabolic disorders is useful. Exercise testing with expired gas analysis can indicate the presence of a metabolic myopathy and results can then be used to direct the appropriate biochemical evaluations.

Effectiveness of Total Worker Health Interventions

Total Worker Health (TWH) was introduced and the term was trademarked in 2011 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to formally signal the expansion of traditional occupational safety and health (OSH) to include wellness and well-being. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, and other databases using keywords TWH, health promotion, health protection, and variants for articles meeting the criteria of (a) employing both occupational safety and/or health (OSH, or health protection) and wellness and/or well-being (health promotion, or HP) in the same intervention study, and (b) reporting both OSH and HP outcomes. Only 17 published studies met these criteria. All but 1 of the 17 TWH interventions improved risk factors for injuries and/or chronic illnesses, and 4 improved 10 or more risk factors. Several TWH interventions reported sustained improvements for over a year, although only 1 is readily available for dissemination. These results suggest that TWH interventions that address both injuries and chronic diseases can improve workforce health effectively and more rapidly than the alternative of separately employing more narrowly focused programs to change the same outcomes in serial fashion. These 17 articles provide useful examples of how TWH interventions can be structured. The promise of simultaneous improvements in safety, health, and well-being leads to the call to pursue TWH research to identify and disseminate best practices.

Long-term effects of a worksite health promotion program for firefighters.

OBJECTIVE To describe effects of 2 worksite health promotion programs for firefighters, both immediate outcomes and the long-term consequences for 4 years following the interventions. METHODS At baseline, 599 firefighters were assessed, randomized by fire station to control and 2 different intervention conditions, and reevaluated with 6 annual follow-up measurements. RESULTS Both a team-centered peer-taught curriculum and an individual motivational interviewing intervention demonstrated positive effects on BMI, with team effects on nutrition behavior and physical activity at one year. Most differences between intervention and control groups dissipated at later annual assessments. However, the trajectory of behaviors across time generally was positive for all groups, consistent with lasting effects and diffusion of program benefits across experimental groups within the worksites. CONCLUSIONS Although one-year programmatic effects did not remain over time, the long-term pattern of behaviors suggested these worksites as a whole were healthier more than 3 years following the interventions.

Randomized trial of a dual‐hormone artificial pancreas with dosing adjustment during exercise compared with no adjustment and sensor‐augmented pump therapy

To test whether adjusting insulin and glucagon in response to exercise within a dual‐hormone artificial pancreas (AP) reduces exercise‐related hypoglycaemia.

Metabolic evaluation of obese and nonobese siblings

OBJECTIVE To test the hypotheses that obese adolescents have a lower resting metabolic rate and less aerobic endurance than their nonobese siblings. DESIGN Case-referent study of obese and nonobese siblings from the same kindred. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PARTICIPANTS Telephone screening of community volunteers resulted in a consecutive sample of 16 kindreds. Obese and nonobese siblings were similar in age, height, and pubertal status. Significantly more female subjects were in the obese group (p less than 0.01). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Body composition studies revealed that the obese siblings had higher body fat (p less than 0.001) but that fat-free mass was similar to that of the lean siblings. Resting metabolic rates determined by indirect calorimetry for the obese and nonobese pairs did not differ. Although the obese siblings appeared less fit when maximal oxygen consumption was measured in relation to total weight, maximal oxygen consumption did not differ when values were standardized for fat-free mass. CONCLUSIONS The obese adolescents did not have a reduced resting metabolic rate. As in adults, the relationship between resting metabolic rate and fat-free mass was similar for obese and nonobese children and adolescents. Any decreased sport participation by the obese siblings was not due to inherent reductions in aerobic capacity.

The COX-2 Specific Inhibitor Valdecoxib Versus Tramadol in Acute Ankle Sprain A Multicenter Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background The cyclooxygenase-2 specific inhibitor valdecoxib has not been approved in the United States for treatment of acute pain. Hypothesis Valdecoxib 20 mg twice daily or once daily (both with a 40-mg loading dose) is not clinically inferior to tramadol for treating the signs and symptoms of acute ankle pain. Study Design Randomized, controlled clinical trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods Patients (N = 829) with acute firstor second-degree ankle sprain received 7 days’ treatment with valdecoxib 20 mg either twice daily or once daily (both with 40-mg loading dose), tramadol 50 mg 4 times daily, or placebo. The primary end point was Patients Assessment of Ankle Pain visual analog scale on day 4; a test of noninferiority compared valdecoxib with tramadol. Results On day 4, both valdecoxib doses were significantly better versus placebo and were comparable with tramadol in relieving ankle pain. On day 7, valdecoxib, but not tramadol, significantly reduced pain versus placebo. On days 4 and 7, more patients resumed normal walking with valdecoxib (45%-47% and 73%-79%, respectively) than with placebo (35% and 64%, respectively) or tramadol (38% and 67%, respectively). In contrast to valdecoxib, the number of withdrawals due to adverse events was significantly higher in the tramadol group (12.2% vs 3.4%; P = .0005). Conclusions Valdecoxib was comparable with tramadol and was significantly better than placebo in treating acute ankle sprain, and it enabled more patients to resume normal walking on days 4 and 7. Both valdecoxib and tramadol were well tolerated.

Young women's anterior cruciate ligament injuries: an expanded model and prevention paradigm.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among young female athletes occur at rates three- to eight-times greater than in male competitors and, in general, females experience more sports injuries than males, when balanced for activity and playing time. ACL injuries are a particular concern, as they result in immediate morbidity, high economic costs and may have long-term adverse effects. While several closely monitored ACL injury preventive programmes have been effective, those efforts have not been uniformly protective nor have they achieved widespread use. To date, ACL injury prevention has focused on neuromuscular and anatomical factors without including issues relating more broadly to the athlete. Coincident with greater female sport participation are other influences that may heighten their injury risk. We review those factors, including early single sport specialization, unhealthy dietary behaviours, chronic sleep deprivation and higher levels of fatigue, substance use and abuse, and psychological issues. We augment existing models of ACL injury with these additional dimensions. The proposed expanded injury model has implications for designing injury prevention programmes. High school athletic teams are natural settings for bonded youth and influential coaches to promote healthy lifestyles, as decisions that result in better athletes also promote healthy lifestyles. As an example of how sport teams could be vehicles to address an expanded injury model, we present an existing evidenced-based sport team-centered health promotion and harm reduction programme for female athletes. Widening the lens on factors influencing ACL injury expands the prevention paradigm to combine existing training with activities to promote psychological well-being and a healthy lifestyle. If developed and shown to be effective, those programmes might better reduce injuries and, in addition, provide life skills that would benefit young female athletes both on and off the playing field.