Gamage Prasanna Janaka, Fortington Lauren Victoria, Finch Caroline F
School of Health and Life Sciences, Federation University Australia, Mt Helen, Victoria, Australia.
School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019 Mar 2;5(1):e000508. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000508. eCollection 2019.
Exertional heat illnesses (EHI) can occur when sport is played in hot and humid environments, such as those common across Asia. Measures to reduce the risk of EHI are important; however, causal data on EHI occurrence are limited and challenging to capture. To gain an initial understanding of EHI risks, we aimed to assess the risk perceptions of EHI of youth cricketers.
A descriptive cross-sectional survey, comprised of 14 questions on EHI risks, was conducted with 365 Sri Lankan junior male cricketers (age=12.9±0.9 years) who typically play in hot and humid conditions.
For climate related risks, relative humidity was perceived as having a low risk of EHI compared with ambient temperature. The EHI risk associated with wearing protective gear, as commonly used in cricket, was perceived as low. Most junior cricketers perceived a low level of risk associated with recommended preventive measures such as body cooling and heat-acclimatisation.
This is the first study to explore EHI risk perceptions in any sporting context. Young players may not be mindful of all risks. Therefore, leadership and initiative from competition organisers and parents is required to promote countermeasures.
在炎热潮湿的环境中进行体育运动时，如在亚洲常见的环境中，可能会发生运动性热疾病（EHI）。采取措施降低EHI风险很重要；然而，关于EHI发生的因果数据有限且难以获取。为了初步了解EHI风险，我们旨在评估青少年板球运动员对EHI的风险认知。
对365名通常在炎热潮湿条件下比赛的斯里兰卡青少年男性板球运动员（年龄 = 12.9±0.9岁）进行了一项描述性横断面调查，该调查由14个关于EHI风险的问题组成。
对于与气候相关的风险，与环境温度相比，相对湿度被认为导致EHI的风险较低。与板球中常用的防护装备相关的EHI风险被认为较低。大多数青少年板球运动员认为与推荐的预防措施（如身体降温及热适应）相关的风险较低。
这是第一项在任何体育背景下探索EHI风险认知的研究。年轻运动员可能没有意识到所有风险。因此，比赛组织者和家长需要发挥领导作用并积极主动地推广应对措施。
