Browse

Evaluating athletes’ knowledge of and attitudes toward sports-related concussions is important. However, there is limited research involving South Asian athletes, partly due to the lack of a valid and reliable tool. This study, therefore, aimed to translate and validate the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitude Survey—Student Version, an established tool used to measure knowledge and attitude toward concussion, into Urdu. Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitude Survey—Student Version was translated into Urdu using the standard guidelines and then completed by 369 athletes participating in contact sports at different universities in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the Concussion Attitude Index items to examine the underlying factorial structure. Construct validity of Concussion Attitude Index factors was also investigated using convergent and discriminant validity. The results showed that the Urdu version of the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitude Survey—Student Version has good psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating Urdu-speaking athletes’ knowledge of and attitudes toward concussions.

The purpose of this study was to provide new knowledge about the temporal and contextual aspects of the alcohol–sport relationship. Eight U.K. student-athletes completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test in their final year at university, 18 months, and 30 months after graduation. They also completed semistructured interviews about their drinking motives, behaviors, and life circumstances. Results showed that participants reduced their alcohol consumption after leaving university, but despite the onset of some adult responsibilities, most were still drinking at hazardous levels. After university, drinking took place with old friends, new colleagues, and new sporting teammates. At all time points, social drinking motives were the most prevalent. Findings demonstrate a relationship between alcohol and sport that is cemented at university but continues beyond it. Targeted interventions to reduce the role of alcohol in the social experience of sport are needed to support long-term athlete health.

Purpose: To examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Körperkoordinations Test Für Kinder (KTK) and covariates of motor competence in a sample of Iranian children aged 5–14 years. Methods: Participants were children aged 5–14 years (N = 432, 61% boys). Age, sex, and body mass index were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to investigate the factorial structure of KTK and multigroup CFA carried out to test measurement invariance across sexes and age groups. In addition, we calculated a model with covariates to identify the association between KTK items with age, sex, and body mass index z score. Results: CFA supported the construct validity of a one-factor model with an appropriate fit indices that the four subtests loaded on the same factor namely motor competence. Furthermore, according to the magnitude of changes in root mean square error of approximation and comparative fit index between nested models, the assumption of KTK measurement invariance across age-groups and sex were valid. Finally, adequate fit indices were found for the multigroup CFA path model of KTK with the covariates sex, age, and body mass index z score. Conclusion: The KTK is a valid, reliable, and valuable instrument for assessing motor competence of Iranian children and adolescents.

Poor single-leg balance performance is associated with an increased risk of sustaining lower limb injuries in team sports. However, it is unclear whether this relationship is modified by the level of training experience (years of training experience). The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether soccer players’ single-leg balance performance is related to lower limb injuries in noncontact situations with different levels of training experience. Subelite young male soccer players performed the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test with the dominant and the nondominant leg at the beginning of the preseason. Due to COVID-19 rules, the occurrence of lower limb injuries during the second half of the competitive season was documented. The odds of injury were calculated based on a previously reported Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test cut-off score for side-to-side anterior reach difference (≥4 cm). Twelve soccer players sustained a lower leg injury in noncontact situations. Only four of them had an anterior reach difference equal to or above the cut-off score. Soccer training experience has no significant influence on the association between Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test anterior reach asymmetry and noncontact lower limb injury in young male players.

Recent metascience suggests that motor behavior research may be underpowered, on average. Researchers can perform a priori power analyses to ensure adequately powered studies. However, there are common pitfalls that can result in underestimating the required sample size for a given design and effect size of interest. Critical evaluation of power analyses requires successful analysis reproduction, which is conditional on the reporting of sufficient information. Here, we attempted to reproduce every power analysis reported in articles (k = 84/635) in three motor behavior journals between January 2019 and June 2021. We reproduced 7% of analyses using the reported information, which increased to 43% when we assumed plausible values for missing parameters. Among studies that reported sufficient information to evaluate, 63% reported using the same statistical test in the power analysis as in the study itself, and in 77%, the test addressed at least one of the identified hypotheses. Overall, power analyses were not commonly reported with sufficient information to ensure reproducibility. A nontrivial number of power analyses were also affected by common pitfalls. There is substantial opportunity to address the issue of underpowered research in motor behavior by increasing adoption of power analyses and ensuring reproducible reporting practices.

Background: Understanding patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior is essential, but evidence from low- and middle-income countries remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the Thai population; their sociodemographic correlates; and the contribution of specific domains to total physical activity. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2021 Health Behavior Survey, a nationally representative survey, conducted by the Thailand National Statistical Office during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. “Sufficiently active” was defined according to the World Health Organization guidelines. “Highly sedentary” was defined as sitting ≥7 hours per day. The contribution of work, transport, and recreational physical activity was determined as the proportion of total physical activity. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine the correlates of being sufficiently active and being highly sedentary. Results: Of the total study population (N = 78,717), 71.9% were sufficiently active, whereas 75.8% were highly sedentary. Females, having a labor-intensive work, and living in Bangkok had a higher likelihood of being sufficiently active. Those with higher education and income levels, and living in Bangkok and the Central region had a greater likelihood of being highly sedentary. The work domain contributed the highest proportion toward physical activity (82.1%), followed by the recreation (10.0%) and transport domains (7.9%). Conclusions: Policies should focus on promoting transport and recreational physical activity and activity that can break up sedentary behavior among adults because when countries become technologically advanced, physical activity at work declines.

Regular physical exercise is known to lower the incidence of age-related eye diseases. We aimed to assess the acute chorioretinal alterations in older adults following intense physical strain. Seventeen senior elite athletes were recruited who underwent an aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer and macular scanning by optical coherence tomography. A significant thinning of the entire retina was observed 1 min after exercise, followed by a thickening at 5 min, after which the thickness returned to baseline. This trend was similar in almost every single retinal layer, although a significant change was observed only in the inner retina. Choroidal thickness changes were neither significant nor did they correlate with the thickness changes of intraretinal layers. The mechanism of how these immediate retinal changes chronically impact age-related sight-threatening pathologies that, in turn, result in a substantially reduced quality of life warrants further investigation on nontrained older adults as well.

Background: Extreme heat may discourage physical activity of children while shade may provide thermal comfort. The authors determined the associations between ambient temperature, shade, and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of children during school recess. Methods: Children aged 8–10 (n = 213) wore accelerometers and global positioning system monitors during recess at 3 school parks in Austin, Texas (September–November 2019). Weather data originated from 10 sensors per park. The authors calculated shade from imagery using a geographic information system (GIS) and time-matched physical activity, location, temperature, and shade data. The authors specified piecewise multilevel regression to assess relations between average temperature and percentage of recess time in MVPA and shade. Results: Temperature ranged 11 °C to 35 °C. Each 1 °C higher temperature was associated with a 0.7 percentage point lower time spent in MVPA, until 33 °C (91 °F) when the association changed to a 1.5 lower time (P < .01). Each 1 °C higher temperature was associated with a 0.3 percentage point higher time spent under shade, until 33 °C when the association changed to a 3.4 higher time (P < .001). At 33 °C or above, the direct association between shade and MVPA weakened (P < .05), with no interaction effect above 33 °C (P > .05). Children at the park with the most tree canopy spent 6.0 percentage points more time in MVPA (P < .01). Conclusions: Children engage in less MVPA and seek shade during extreme heat and engage in more MVPA in green schoolyards. With climate change, schools should consider interventions (eg, organizing shaded play, tree planting) to promote heat safe MVPA.