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Climate Change and Athlete Health

By Sarah Kirsh

 

In past posts, we have explored the interactions and connections between current environmental damages, climate change, mental health, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular health. Through recent research, it is clear that the changing climate impacts overall human health in various ways. And for each impact on human health, there are many nuances for each population. For the professional and adolescent athlete population, climate change can have damaging results on performance. Both air pollution and warming temperatures contribute to a new world with challenging implications for athletes.

Today, the release of particles from global air pollution damages the air we all breathe. For athletes and training, air quality is especially important. Anyone that has ever exercised knows that our bodies need a large inflow of oxygen during and after exercise. As athletes simply breathe they are subject to lung damage and disease from floating particles. Furthermore, many athletes spend above-average periods of time outside where they are potentially exposed to more pollutants. Whether these pollutants be from vehicles on nearby roads or distant factories, each category of particles brings a different host of pulmonary problems. Most commonly, newer particles are known to cause oxidative stress and inflammation. Oxidative stress is a chemical imbalance that gives rise to several unstable molecules. These unstable molecules will bond to anything, changing the function of any protein, fat, or DNA. In extreme cases, this can lead to acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, chronic heart failure, and stroke. And that's just for the vascular system. In general, athletic and exercise performance is likely to decrease as a result of any oxidative stress and/or inflammation. One meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine by Kenneth William Rundell assessed athlete performance in relation to exhaust exposure. The analysis found that acute exposure to vehicle exhaust pollutants during athletic practice or competition can cause decreased function of pulmonary or vascular systems. Chronic exposure can produce similar results and potentially cause “vascular dysfunction.” Thus, performance is seen to decrease after outdoor exercise and aerosol exposure.


Apart from air pollution, rising temperatures can as well harm athletes during outdoor practice and exercise. Extremely high temperatures for prolonged periods of time causes heat-related illness. These include heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, sunburn, and rash. As global temperatures rise, athletes that are forced to perform for long periods outside are at higher risk for heat-related illness. One study in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal by Kerr et al. explored the connection between heat-related illness occurrence and high school football preseason guidelines. The researchers found that with current policies and current climate trends, heat-related illness and related death are likely to increase across the nation. The authors further recommended that guidelines be adjusted to account for the earth’s changing environment and increasing temperatures.


In today’s global climate, athletes are at risk for several damaging health outcomes. Air pollution and climbing temperatures create a problem for outdoor practice and athlete performance. While changing the direction of climate change may be impossible, it is clear that the athletic world must be modified to limit these health outcomes.



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