There is an interesting thread on Yahoo.com regarding a German study on Scuba divers lungs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060714/hl_nm/scuba_diving_dc
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060714/hl_nm/scuba_diving_dc
Divers Lungs
- Thread starter mdb
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Diver Dennis
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Interesting. I had never heard that divers lungs were more prone to decline than non divers. Good to know it's not the case.
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Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
kjundvr
Contributor
This is interasting although it's odd that there are more divers than non divers that were smoking in the study.
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For those desiring a little more detail:
"Chest. 2006 Jul;130(1):238-43.
Decline of FEV1 in scuba divers.
Tetzlaff K, Theysohn J, Stahl C, Schlegel S, Koch A, Muth CM.
Medical Clinic and Polyclinic, Department of Sports Medicine, University of Tuebingen Silcherstrasse 5, 72076 Tubingen, Germany. Kay.Tetzlaff@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Obstructive changes in lung function have been reported with cumulative scuba diving exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate the decline in FEV(1) in scuba divers over time.
DESIGN: Prospective controlled cohort study.
SETTING: German Naval Medical Institute.
PATIENTS: Four hundred sixty-eight healthy, male, military scuba divers and 122 submariners (control subjects) were entered.
MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Pulmonary function tests were performed in all subjects on at least three occasions with a minimum interval of 1 year between first and last measurement. The decline in FEV(1) was investigated fitting a general linear model to FEV(1) across time with a factorial main-effects model for slopes and intercepts with respect to the factors group, smoking status, and baseline FEV(1). Mean baseline age of all subjects was 32 years (SD, 9.1), and mean body mass index was 24.7 kg/m(2) (SD, 2.4). Subjects were followed up for 5 years (range, 1 to 9 years) on average. Baseline FEV(1) exceeded the predicted values in both divers and nondiving control subjects. There was no significant difference in the decline of FEV(1) between divers and control subjects. Over time, FEV(1) declined more rapidly in smokers than in nonsmokers (p = 0.0064) and declined more rapidly also in subjects with a baseline FEV(1) above average compared to subjects below average (p < 0.0001). The annual decline of FEV(1) peaked in smoking divers who had a high FEV(1) at baseline.
CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that scuba diving is not associated with an accelerated decline in FEV(1). Combined exposure to diving and smoking contributes to the fall of FEV(1); therefore, smoking cessation is advised for divers."
Regards,
DocVikingo
"Chest. 2006 Jul;130(1):238-43.
Decline of FEV1 in scuba divers.
Tetzlaff K, Theysohn J, Stahl C, Schlegel S, Koch A, Muth CM.
Medical Clinic and Polyclinic, Department of Sports Medicine, University of Tuebingen Silcherstrasse 5, 72076 Tubingen, Germany. Kay.Tetzlaff@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Obstructive changes in lung function have been reported with cumulative scuba diving exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate the decline in FEV(1) in scuba divers over time.
DESIGN: Prospective controlled cohort study.
SETTING: German Naval Medical Institute.
PATIENTS: Four hundred sixty-eight healthy, male, military scuba divers and 122 submariners (control subjects) were entered.
MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Pulmonary function tests were performed in all subjects on at least three occasions with a minimum interval of 1 year between first and last measurement. The decline in FEV(1) was investigated fitting a general linear model to FEV(1) across time with a factorial main-effects model for slopes and intercepts with respect to the factors group, smoking status, and baseline FEV(1). Mean baseline age of all subjects was 32 years (SD, 9.1), and mean body mass index was 24.7 kg/m(2) (SD, 2.4). Subjects were followed up for 5 years (range, 1 to 9 years) on average. Baseline FEV(1) exceeded the predicted values in both divers and nondiving control subjects. There was no significant difference in the decline of FEV(1) between divers and control subjects. Over time, FEV(1) declined more rapidly in smokers than in nonsmokers (p = 0.0064) and declined more rapidly also in subjects with a baseline FEV(1) above average compared to subjects below average (p < 0.0001). The annual decline of FEV(1) peaked in smoking divers who had a high FEV(1) at baseline.
CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that scuba diving is not associated with an accelerated decline in FEV(1). Combined exposure to diving and smoking contributes to the fall of FEV(1); therefore, smoking cessation is advised for divers."
Regards,
DocVikingo
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An equally recent study performed using recreational rather than military divers who were on average just about 20 years older. This study is not as well designed, used a much smaller sample and the effect sizes are small. Still, it's best not to jump to hasty conclusions.
"Int J Sports Med. 2006 May 30.
Ventilatory Function in Experienced Recreational Scuba Divers: Evidence of Small Airways Disease?
Lemaitre F, Tourny-Chollet C, Lemouton MC.
Centre d'Etudes des Transformations des Activites Physiques et Sportives, Equipe d'Accueil UPRES N degrees 3832. Faculte des Sciences du Sport et de l'Education Physique de Rouen, Universite de Rouen, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France.
Diving has shown long-term effects on respiratory function in trained professional divers, indicating the development of small airways disease. The results are more controversial in trained recreational divers because of the different degrees of exposure and training.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of recreational diving on respiratory function in highly experienced divers. Volumes and expiratory flow rates were measured in 32 older recreational divers (51.6 +/- 7.4 years).
The forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV (1)) were higher (+ 4.9 % and + 6 %, respectively; p < 0.01) than the theoretical standards (ERS 93). These values tended to decrease more rapidly as the age advanced (age range: 43 - 73 years) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mid-expiratory flows at 50 %, 25 % and 25 - 75 % of vital capacity (MEF (50 %), MEF (25 %) and MEF (25 - 75 %)) were significantly decreased. These early signs of decrease suggest slight small airways disease in older experienced recreational divers."
Stay tuned.
Regards,
DocVikingo
"Int J Sports Med. 2006 May 30.
Ventilatory Function in Experienced Recreational Scuba Divers: Evidence of Small Airways Disease?
Lemaitre F, Tourny-Chollet C, Lemouton MC.
Centre d'Etudes des Transformations des Activites Physiques et Sportives, Equipe d'Accueil UPRES N degrees 3832. Faculte des Sciences du Sport et de l'Education Physique de Rouen, Universite de Rouen, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France.
Diving has shown long-term effects on respiratory function in trained professional divers, indicating the development of small airways disease. The results are more controversial in trained recreational divers because of the different degrees of exposure and training.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of recreational diving on respiratory function in highly experienced divers. Volumes and expiratory flow rates were measured in 32 older recreational divers (51.6 +/- 7.4 years).
The forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV (1)) were higher (+ 4.9 % and + 6 %, respectively; p < 0.01) than the theoretical standards (ERS 93). These values tended to decrease more rapidly as the age advanced (age range: 43 - 73 years) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mid-expiratory flows at 50 %, 25 % and 25 - 75 % of vital capacity (MEF (50 %), MEF (25 %) and MEF (25 - 75 %)) were significantly decreased. These early signs of decrease suggest slight small airways disease in older experienced recreational divers."
Stay tuned.
Regards,
DocVikingo
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