Dive planning for older divers 70+

[drewh1]

Wondering if age affects nitrogen loading and if adjustments are needed for dive planning. I have a Suunto vyper that does have some adjustments to the algorithm. I generally won't be pushing things to max but you never know.

 

[Mobulai]

since DCI/S is a form of inflammatory reaction (to the perfusion/diffusion and inert gas loading etc) I’d make a wild guess that “older” cells react harsher to it
So maybe higher conservatism is warranted (but maybe also not needed but adds extra margin of safety)

Conservatism of the deco algo is something you tune (shooting on the dark) on case by case basis, but erring on the safe side is always a good idea

Most probably @Duke Dive Medicine or @Dr Simon Mitchell have better input/thoughts than I

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Wondering if age affects nitrogen loading and if adjustments are needed for dive planning. I have a Suunto vyper that does have some adjustments to the algorithm. I generally won't be pushing things to max but you never know.

It probably doesn't affect nitrogen loading per se, but there's evidence to suggest that DCS risk increases with age:

Relationship between age and susceptibility to altitude decompression sickness - PubMed

There is a trend toward increased DCS susceptibility with increasing age, with a particularly strong trend for individuals over 42 yr of age.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov