Exertional Heat Illness
Conditions
Brief summary
The arduous nature of military training and operations require personnel to encounter high heat load, e.g., during intense physical exertion, particularly in the heat. These conditions reduce operational effectiveness and expose personnel to a risk of incapacitation and death from exertional heat illness (EHI). The aim of this study is to examine traditional and novel risk factors that may increase thermal strain and EHI likelihood in military recruits undergoing strenuous physical exercise.
Interventions
Core temperature will be monitored on the day of exercise
BEHAVIORALQuestionnaires
Questionnaires will be completed at baseline and on the day of exercise
Heart rate will be monitored on the day of exercise
OTHERUrine collection
Urine samples will be collected at baseline and on the day of exercise
OTHERSleep monitoring
Sleep will be monitored at baseline and on the day of exercise
OTHERBlood collection
Blood samples will be completed at baseline
OTHERSaliva collection
Saliva samples will be collected at baseline and on the day of exercise
OTHERThroat swab collection
Throat swab samples will be collected at baseline and on the day of exercise
OTHERStool collection
Stool samples will be collected at baseline and on the day of exercise
Sponsors
Institute of Naval Medicine (UK)
CTCRM Lympstone (UK)
University of Portsmouth (UK)
Public Health Wales
Bangor University (UK)
Headquarters Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command (UK)
Defence Science and Technology (UK)
Liverpool John Moores University
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
17 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Men and women aged 17-35 years enrolled in military training
Exclusion criteria
* Self-report as pregnant
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Body mass index in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Fitness in EHI and control group - participants ranked by time to complete fitness test | Baseline | — |
| Core temperature in EHI and control group | 1 Day | — |
| Heart rate in EHI and control group | 2 Hours | — |
| Urine osmolality in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Sleep quality and quantity, measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, in EHI and control group | Throughout study - up to 1 week | 0-21 Scale. Higher score indicates worse outcome |
| Sleep quality, measured by actigraphy, between EHI and control group | Throughout study - up to 1 week | — |
| Sleep quantity, measured by actigraphy, between EHI and control group | Throughout study - up to 1 week | — |
| Circulating Interleukin 6 in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating C-Reactive Protein in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating Creatine kinase in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating Aspartate Aminotransferase in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating Alanine Aminotransferase in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating Claudin 3 in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating Zonulin in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating Lipopolysaccharide binding protein in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Circulating immunoglobulin E in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
| Salivary cortisol in EHI and control group | Throughout study - up to 1 week | — |
| Detection of infectious pathogens in EHI and control groups | Throughout study - up to 1 week | — |
| Respiratory illness symptomology, measured by Jackson common cold questionnaire, in EHI and control group | Throughout study - up to 1 week | 0-24 Scale. Higher score indicates worse outcome |
| Gastrointestinal illness symptomology, measured by gastrointestinal symptoms questionnaire, in EHI and control group | Throughout study - up to 1 week | 0-10 Scale per symptom. Higher score indicates worse outcome |
| Abundance and diversity of gastrointestinal microbiota in EHI and control group | Baseline | — |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed