Neuropsychometric Data Comparison between Sports Divers

Neuropsychometric Data Comparison between Sports Divers,
Sports Fighters and Controls
Costantino Balestra 1,2,4* , Peter Germonpré 1,3* , M. Ezquer 1,2,4, T. Snoeck 1,2,4, A.Marroni 1,4
1
DAN Europe Research Division 2Université Libre de Bruxelles 3Center for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Military Hospital Queen Astrid 4Haute Ecole
Paul Henri Spaak, Environmental & Occupational Physiology Department *These authors contributed equally to this work.
Introduction
The long term effects of diving are still a matter of discussion among various specialists and this for recreational or
professional divers (Aarli et al., 1985; Morild & Mork, 1994; Shields et al., 1997; Di Piero et al., 2002) . After
having discussed the occurrence of UBOs in the cerebral MRI images in a recreational diving population that had
never encountered DCS (Balestra et al. 2004), the corollary analysis will be the neuropsychiatric analysis.
Methods
Results
To achieve this we choose the automatic NEUROSCREEN analysis, this is a bilingual (Flemish, French)
standardized computer assisted analysis which is actually used in professional medicine as a preventive evaluation
for workers that are in contact with neurotoxic substances.
This test has been built to compare the scores obtained by the population to be analysed on 4 different items and
the scores obtained by a control group (n=36) and 2 other different populations : sport divers that never suffered of
DCS (carefully randomized 44 divers under 41 yrs of age, having performed at least 200 dives) and a last group of
professional sportsmen in fighting sports n=15 (Boxe, Karate, Kung fu, Thai boxing). Since in our combat sports
population no female were present, all groups were males. The tested items were the : Digital Span Backward
mainly to test the short term memory; Simple Reaction Time testing the speed of reaction; Symbol Digit
Substitution testing the spatial visual organisation, Eye Trail Making to analyse the Visuo-manual performance.
The statistical analysis included ANOVA and tests for normality of population (KS)
A significant difference has been found between the population data concerning The mean age of the diving group
nevertheless, the reaction time was still faster than the other groups. None of the items tested was correlated with
the number of deep dives performed deeper than 40 m (an example is given in fig 4 for the simple reaction time). A
difference was found in the two sports groups on the DSB and a positive difference in favour of the fighting sports
group for the Symbol digit substitution test. A subtle non significant different seems to be present for the divers
concerning the EYE item, this group argued that the use of a joystick was new and tricky….
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Fig.1: Comparison betw. the different group (ANOVA); * = p< 0.05 ; **=p<0.01; ***=p<0.001; fig.
2 : visuo spatial test; fig 3: Short term memory test; fig 4: Oculo manual test; fig 5 : linear regression
of reaction time vs number of deep dives.; fig 6 : population description.
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Discussion
Conclusions
References
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The differences found are in favour of a tendency for the fighting sports to impair the neuropsychiatric hability,
nevertheless the better score in SDS shows a training effect on the visuo spatial habilities, short term memory is
impaired in both diving and fighting populations as it has previousely been reported.
Except for Short term Memory, no significant impairement could be found comparing divers and normatives, the
differences were even in favour of the diving group. This group was older then the other tested goups and thus the
imaparement of the STM could be depending on that factor.
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