René J.L. Murphy

The Alcohol Hangover Research Group Consensus Statement on Best Practice in Alcohol Hangover Research

Alcohol-induced hangover, defined by a series of symptoms, is the most commonly reported consequence of excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol hangovers contribute to workplace absenteeism, impaired job performance, reduced productivity, poor academic achievement, and may compromise potentially dangerous daily activities such as driving a car or operating heavy machinery. These socioeconomic consequences and health risks of alcohol hangover are much higher when compared to various common diseases and other health risk factors. Nevertheless, unlike alcohol intoxication the hangover has received very little scientific attention and studies have often yielded inconclusive results. Systematic research is important to increase our knowledge on alcohol hangover and its consequences. This consensus paper of the Alcohol Hangover Research Group discusses methodological issues that should be taken into account when performing future alcohol hangover research. Future research should aim to (1) further determine the pathology of alcohol hangover, (2) examine the role of genetics, (3) determine the economic costs of alcohol hangover, (4) examine sex and age differences, (5) develop common research tools and methodologies to study hangover effects, (6) focus on factor that aggravate hangover severity (e.g., congeners), and (7) develop effective hangover remedies.

Physical activity of children and youth in Nova Scotia from 2001/02 and 2005/06

OBJECTIVES This paper reports on physical activity of students in grades 3, 7, and 11 from two surveillance studies (from 2001 and 2005). METHODS Randomly selected students (Study1 n=1730; Study2 n=2341) from randomly selected schools in Nova Scotia participated. Physical activity was measured for seven consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometers. Descriptive statistics were calculated for moderate, hard, and very hard intensity, and total minutes of physical activity. Between study, grade, and sex differences were determined using univariate Analyses of Variance. RESULTS Students in Study2 were significantly less active (mean [SD]=531.0 [392.3] min/week) than Study1 (662.2 [495.1] min/week). Girls were significantly less active (525.4 [419.1] min/week) than boys (657.1 [460.3] min/week). Students in grade 11 were significantly less active (225.2 [171.1] min/week) than students in grade 7 (457.5 [227.2] min/week) who were significantly less active than students in grade 3 (1038.4 [387.6] min/week). A significant study-grade interaction indicated that compared to students in grades 7 and 11, the level of physical activity in students in grade 3 was considerably lower in Study2 compared to Study1. CONCLUSIONS Given the lower level of physical activity found in Study2, efforts at informing public policy and strategies that promote physical activity in children and youth should be made.

Are overweight students in Grades 3, 7, and 11 less physically active than their healthy weight counterparts?

OBJECTIVE This study compared the accumulated minutes of objectively measured physical activity in 1,790 boys and girls in Grades 3, 7, and 11 classified as healthy weight, at risk of overweight, and overweight. METHODS Height and weight were measured and body mass index calculated. Minutes of sedentary, light, moderate, hard, and very hard physical activity were obtained from a seven-day measurement of physical activity using an accelerometer (Actigraph, mode 7164; MTI). RESULTS In Grade 3, boys (p=0.000) and girls (p=0.012) classified as overweight obtained significantly fewer minutes of very hard physical activity compared with their healthy weight counterparts. Boys in Grade 7 considered overweight obtained significantly fewer minutes of hard (p=0.002) and very hard physical activity (p=0.006) compared with boys who were a healthy weight. There were no significant differences in minutes of sedentary, light, moderate, hard, or very hard intensity physical activity in the boys and girls in Grade 11, who were considered a healthy weight, at risk of overweight, or overweight. CONCLUSIONS Weak and inconsistent support was provided for the notion that boys and girls classified overweight are less physically active than their healthy weight counterparts.

Transplantation of porous tubes following spinal cord transection improves hindlimb function in the rat

Study Design:Experimental.Objective:To determine the effects of a porous tube transplant in spinal cord transected rats.Setting:Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada.Methods:Female rats were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: control (Con, n=8), spinal cord transected (Tx, n=5) and spinal cord transected with transplant (TxTp, n=7). The rats in the TxTp and Tx groups received a complete spinal cord transection at the T10 level and the TxTp group immediately received a porous tube transplant.Results:Locomotor activity rated on the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan scale improved significantly in the TxTp animals over the 4 weeks such that final scores were 21, 1.4 and 7.1 for the Con, Tx and TxTp groups, respectively. As expected, the muscle to body mass ratios of the hindlimb skeletal muscles of the Tx group were decreased (soleus 35%, plantaris 29% and gastrocnemius 29%) and this was also observed in the TxTp group (soleus 33%, plantaris 23% and gastrocnemius 30%). Cytochrome c oxidase (CYTOX) activity in the plantaris was decreased by Tx but maintained in the TxTp group (Con=82.2, Tx=44.8 and TxTp=72.8 U/min/g).Conclusion:Four weeks after the spinal cord transection, plantaris CYTOX activity and locomotor function improved with porous tube implantation.Sponsorship:Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus, resistance training, and innate immunity: is there a common link?

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a serious chronic disease that is very prevalent in the developed world. The etiology of this disease is not well understood. Recently, the role of the innate immune system in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and its complications has received a great deal of attention. Cytokines, acute phase proteins, and phagocytes have been implicated in this model. Resistance training has known benefits in type 2 diabetic patients and older adults, such as improved insulin action, insulin sensitivity, fasting blood glucose and insulin, and glucose tolerance levels. Actions of pro-inflammatory mediators linked to dysregulated innate immune activity have been associated with type 2 diabetes. The immunomodulatory effects of exercise, and in particular approaches such as resistance training, may provide a strategy to counter these pro-inflammatory effectors. However, the effects of resistance training on innate immunity have not been studied extensively in adults with type 2 diabetes or in older adults who are at increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes. This review discusses the possibility that resistance training may have positive effects on innate immunity in this population and so may provide benefits in addition to improving strength and functional abilities. In particular, the potential of resistance training to modulate pro-inflammatory parameters associated with type 2 diabetes, as a strategy that could provide multiple beneficial health outcomes, is addressed.

Disputing the claims for physiological fitness and health adaptations from purposeful training using off-road vehicles

The article by Burr and associates (2011) sponsored by the Canadian Off Highway Vehicle Manufacturers Association (COHV) claiming that OHVs can be used as a fitness development modality raises a number of significant concerns and questions. It is important to appreciate that recreational OHVs and particularly ATVs are extremely dangerous. We know of no other recreational activity that has such a high mortality and morbidity rate as ATVing. For example, in the United States The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the annual costs to the US economy to be

The Physical Activity and Exercise Tool-kit: Effectiveness of a new resource for diabetes educators

3.24 billion dollars (Helmkamp and Lawrence 2007) while in Canada, Smartrisk (2009) estimated the yearly combined costs of ATVing and Snowmobiling at

17 – Female Beer Drinking and the Morning After

381 million (Canada has approximately 1/10 the USA population). The incidence of emergency healthcare associated with these activities in Canada is astounding. Considering only mobility incidents, ______________________________________

Physical activity and body mass index in grade 3, 7, and 11 Nova Scotia students.

Physical activity and exercise (PAE) are essential in the prevention and management of diabetes. Diabetes educators (DEs) are often looked to as the primary source of information for those living with diabetes and are well positioned to provide counselling on PAE. However, DEs often receive little training in exercise prescription and do not feel adequately prepared to effectively counsel patients regarding PAE. While DEs’ personal perceptions (e.g., self-efficacy) have been shown to be key determinants of their behaviour, their beliefs in their clients’ abilities (e.g., other efficacy, perceived attitudes) have received little attention. The present study examined the effectiveness of the ‘Physical Activity and Exercise Tool-kit” in increasing both DEs’ perceptions surrounding PAE counselling and of their clients’ abilities in, and attitudes towards PAE. Using a 2 (group) by 2 (time) quasi-experimental design, DEs (N = 121) were assigned to either an intervention or standard care condition. The intervention group was provided with training on PAE counselling including the “Physical Activity and Exercise Tool-kit,” a theory driven, evidence based resource specifically designed for DEs. The standard care group was referred to Canada’s Physical Activity Guide. Measures of counselling efficacy, referral efficacy, attitudes, and perceived difficulty, as well as other efficacy, and perceived client attitudes were administered at baseline and 6 months. To examine the effectiveness of the ‘Tool-kit’ three separate repeated measures MANOVAs were conducted. Examination of DEs’ efficacy beliefs revealed a significant group by time interaction (p = .03). Follow-up tests indicated that the interaction was significant for counselling efficacy (p = .02) such that participants in the intervention group were more confident about PAE counselling at 6 months (M6mo = 68.3) as compared to baseline (Mbase = 54.0) and as compared to the standard care group at both time point (Mbase = 48.9, M6mo = 50.4). In addition, there were multiple significant main effects for time across the separate analyses. Follow-up tests revealed significant increases over time in DEs’ counselling efficacy (p = .01), perceived difficulty (p < .001) and confidence in their clients’ ability to manage PAE (p = .001). These findings suggest that the ‘Tool-kit’ represents an effective training resource for DEs in the area of PAE counselling. While there is the need for examination of the effectiveness of the ‘Tool-kit’ over the longer term, and on the translation of increased counselling efficacy to improved PAE counselling, the present study suggests that incorporation of the ‘Tool-kit’ may have best practice implications for the way in which PAE is promoted in diabetes care.

Influence of body heat content on hand function during prolonged cold exposures

The goal of this chapter is to review the drinking patterns and hangover effects of beer consumption in women. We first provide an overview of alcohol consumption and the experience of the alcohol hangover. Alcohol is a widely consumed drug. Beer is consumed by both men and women although women typically consume less than men. In North America, per capita consumption of beer has been stable over the past 20 years; total amount of pure alcohol consumed in beer is approximately 4–4.5 l/year. Given that beer contains ∼5% alcohol by volume (∼17 ml alcohol per 341 ml bottle), this represents the annual consumption of a large quantity of beer. Factors contributing to consumption including consumption rates, locations and social influences are reviewed, as there are some limitations of the methods used to collect these data. There are some differences in alcohol pharmacokinetics between women and men, however when these are controlled, sex does not appear to differentially affect the intoxication or hangover experience. Consumption of alcohol is often associated with negative delayed effects sometimes experienced as hangover symptoms. These delayed or hangover effects are difficult to standardize and have not been widely studied. Although there is little published work on the experience of hangover in women, the few reports that are available indicate that hangover effects on performance do not appear to differ between women and men. Furthermore, there are very few studies on the hangover effects of beer consumption in women. This chapter concludes with a summary of the known effects of beer hangover on physical and psychomotor performance in women, as well as general recommendations for future work.