Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens.
Korey Stringer Institute, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
J Athl Train. 2018 Jan;53(1):43-50. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-445-16. Epub 2018 Jan 13.
Weather-based activity modification in athletics is an important way to minimize heat illnesses. However, many commonly used heat-safety guidelines include a uniform set of heat-stress thresholds that do not account for geographic differences in acclimatization.
To determine if heat-related fatalities among American football players occurred on days with unusually stressful weather conditions based on the local climate and to assess the need for regional heat-safety guidelines.
Cross-sectional study.
Data from incidents of fatal exertional heat stroke (EHS) in American football players were obtained from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research and the Korey Stringer Institute.
Sixty-one American football players at all levels of competition with fatal EHSs from 1980 to 2014.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We used the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and a z-score WBGT standardized to local climate conditions from 1991 to 2010 to assess the absolute and relative magnitudes of heat stress, respectively.
We observed a poleward decrease in exposure WBGTs during fatal EHSs. In milder climates, 80% of cases occurred at above-average WBGTs, and 50% occurred at WBGTs greater than 1 standard deviation from the long-term mean; however, in hotter climates, half of the cases occurred at near average or below average WBGTs.
The combination of lower exposure WBGTs and frequent extreme climatic values in milder climates during fatal EHSs indicates the need for regional activity-modification guidelines with lower, climatically appropriate weather-based thresholds. Established activity-modification guidelines, such as those from the American College of Sports Medicine, work well in the hotter climates, such as the southern United States, where hot and humid weather conditions are common.
基于天气的田径运动项目调整是将热相关疾病最小化的重要方法。然而，许多常用的热安全指南包括一套统一的热应激阈值，没有考虑到适应的地理差异。
确定美式足球运动员的热相关死亡是否发生在根据当地气候异常炎热的天气条件下，并评估是否需要区域性热安全指南。
横断面研究。
从国家灾难性运动伤害研究中心和科里·斯特林格研究所获得的美式足球运动员致命性运动性热射病（EHS）事件的数据。
1980 年至 2014 年期间，61 名在各级比赛中患有致命性 EHS 的美式足球运动员。
我们使用湿球黑球温度（WBGT）和 1991 年至 2010 年标准化为当地气候条件的 z 评分 WBGT 分别评估绝对和相对热应激程度。
我们观察到致命性 EHS 期间暴露 WBGT 呈向极地方向的下降。在气候较温和的地区，80%的病例发生在高于平均水平的 WBGT 下，50%的病例发生在 WBGT 比长期平均值高出 1 个标准差以上；然而，在气候较热的地区，一半的病例发生在接近平均或低于平均水平的 WBGT 下。
在致命性 EHS 中，温和气候下的暴露 WBGT 较低且极端气候值频繁出现，这表明需要制定具有较低、气候适宜的基于天气的活动调整阈值的区域性活动调整指南。已建立的活动调整指南，如美国运动医学学院的指南，在美国南部等炎热潮湿天气常见的较热气候地区效果良好。
