Hello dla-ga,
I have managed to find a number of references to journal articles on
this topic in the Medline database at PubLed (National Library of
Medicine) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi In most
cases, only the summaries are available, so if you need to read the
full studies, you will have to ask your library to arrange to get them
for you. I have indicated those papers which are available in full
text online free of charge. Where I have quoted only partially from a
summary, I have given a link to the complete summary on PubMed.
I have taken the liberty of including studies about parachuting in
general. While I am aware that skydiving has a slightly different
definition, I think that the two are similar enough for parachuting to
be included as a search term.
As you can see, a number of parameters have been investigated,
including heart rate and hormonal responses, but I have not managed to
find any studies of effects on blood pressure. I know that blood
pressure can be measured by radio-telemetry, but am not familiar
enough with the technique to say whether it is possible to use this in
sky divers.
1. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 1997
Aug;82(8):2503-9
Hormonal responses to psychological stress in men preparing for
skydiving.
Chatterton RT Jr, Vogelsong KM, Lu YC, Hudgens GA.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University
Medical School, Chicago, Illinois
Looks at salivary and blood hormone levels before and after skydiving.
Full text of the paper:
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/82/8/2503
2. Arch Inst Cardiol Mexico 1988 Jul-Aug;58(4):325-31
[Continuous electrocardiographic recording during a first parachute
jump]
[Article in Spanish]
Galante J, Hernandez A, Colin L, Camacho B, Verdejo J, Ferez S.
Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez, Mexico
“The heart rate values were compared two weeks prior (64.5 beats/min),
before (112.8 beats/min), during (170 beats/min) and after the jump
(122.8 beats/min). The mean difference between each phase was
statistically significant with p less than 0.001 values. The observed
cardiac rhythm was sinus tachycardia in each case. In six cases
(43.6%) 22 episodes of sudden decrease of the heart rate were seen and
there were no major rhythm or conduction disturbances.”
Link to abstract on Pubmed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3190367&dopt=Abstract
3. Biotelemetry and Patient Monitoring 1982;9(4):238-50
Sports-medical studies on parachute jumpers with particular reference
to the behavior of heart rate.
Jung K, Schulze J.
“The aim of the experiment was to record the heart rate tracings of
three groups of parachutists - with manually operated parachutes,
automatically operated parachutes and formation parachutists (sky
divers) - during the jump and to compare these with the findings
obtained during bicycle ergometer stress tests. A total of 112
parachute jumps involving 31 subjects were evaluated. All the subjects
exhibited a significant increase in heart rate during the exit, canopy
opening and landing phases. Qualitatively, the heart rate curves of
the formation, manual and automatic parachutists showed a similar
trend. Rises in heart rate during the opening of the parachute (for
the formation parachutists) and during landing (for the automatic
parachutists) were, however, particularly pronounced. The increase in
heart rate can be principally ascribed to emotional tension and a
state of anticipation rather than to physical stress. The comparative
evaluation of the ergometer tests showed that as a general rule stress
factors in the submaximal region occur during parachuting, but that in
extreme situations heart rates in the maximal region of physical
stress may well be expected.”
4 (not physiological data, but might be of interest, showing )
Behavioral Res Ther 2002 Apr;40(4):431-7
Hyperarousal and dissociation: a study of novice skydivers.
Sterlini GL, Bryant RA.
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
“Responses indicated that the skydive elicited extreme anxiety,
hyperarousal, and peritraumatic dissociation in a significant
proportion of skydivers.”
Link to abstract on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12002899&dopt=Abstract
5. Physiology of Behavior 1997 Apr;61(4):507-11
Adrenocortical responses to repeated parachute jumping and subsequent
h-CRH challenge in inexperienced healthy subjects.
Deinzer R, Kirschbaum C, Gresele C, Hellhammer DH.
University of Dusseldorf, Institute for Medical Psychology, Germany
The present study examined the adrenocortical response to 3
consecutive parachute jumps and a poststress h-CRH challenge…
…Parachute jumping induced 3 distinct highly significant
adrenocortical responses. The respective cortisol increases for the
first, second, and third jump were 39.4 +/- 26.5 nmol/1, 31.4 +/- 21.4
nmol/l, and 16.5 +/- 11.9 nmol/l. Cortisol responses to the first and
second jump did not differ but the response to the third jump was
significantly reduced [t(13) = 3.11; p = 0.008]. Two groups of
subjects were identified, "decreasers," whose response decreased from
one to the other jump, and "increasers," whose response remained
unchanged or increased. The magnitude of the preceding cortisol
response of decreasers exceeded that of increasers significantly by
about 30 nmol.
Link to abstract on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9108568&dopt=Abstract
6. Psychoneuroendocrinology 1995;20(1):103-10
Beta-endorphin, but not substance-P, is increased by acute stress in
humans.
Schedlowski M, Fluge T, Richter S, Tewes U, Schmidt RE, Wagner TO.
Division of Medical Psychology, Hannover Medical School, Germany
Blood samples were obtained from 47 inexperienced tandem-parachutists
2 h before, immediately after, and 1 h after a parachute jump and
plasma concentrations of beta-endorphin and substance-P were analysed…
…Whereas substance-P concentrations seemed to be unaffected by the
jump stress, there was a transient but significant increase in
beta-endorphin levels immediately after jumping. However, subjects
higher in state-anxiety at the point of jumping (exit) displayed
higher substance-P values at all three time points compared to the
"low-anxiety" jumpers. In addition, stress-induced beta-endorphin
secretion was dependent on subjective control attributions.”
Link to abstract on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7530853&dopt=Abstract
7. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1994 Oct 25;91(22):10440-4
Emotional stress induced by parachute jumping enhances blood nerve
growth factor levels and the distribution of nerve growth factor
receptors in lymphocytes.
Aloe L, Bracci-Laudiero L, Alleva E, Lambiase A, Micera A, Tirassa P.
Institute of Neurobiology, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome,
Italy
Full text available in pdf at:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/91/22/10440 Click on “Begin manual
download”
8. Psychophysiology 1992 Jan;29(1):95-103
Physiological arousal and perception of bodily state during parachute
jumping.
Schedlowski M, Tewes U.
Department of Medical Psychology, Hannover Medical School, Germany.
“Novice parachutists showed a higher degree of self-rated arousal
during jumps. However, the two groups displayed nearly parallel curves
for heart and respiration rates, differing significantly from each
other only in the level of their respective heart rates.”
Link to abstract on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1609032&dopt=Abstract
9. Eur Heart J 1986 Feb;7(2):110-4
Ambulatory ECG recording during competitive parachute jumping in
apparently healthy young men: more evidence for intermittent vagal
dominance during enhanced sympathetic activity.
Tak T, Cats VM, Dunning AJ.
Using two-channel 24-hour ambulatory ECG recording we studied seven
healthy young men during one day of parachute jumping competition (day
1), as compared to one control day (day 2). A symptom limited exercise
test was also performed on day 2. Maximal heart rates attained during
exercise testing were of the same order as during parachute jumping.
In the phases just prior to 'exit', short periods of striking sinus
arrhythmia with slow atrial rhythm were present in 3 subjects. Only
one of these had slow atrial rhythm during the control day. Atrial and
ventricular premature complexes, when present, disappeared with higher
heart rates under all circumstances. No AV conduction disturbances
were found.
10. Rev Electroencephalogr Neurophysiol Clin 1977 Apr-Jun;7(2):219-24
[Radiotelemetric study of heart rate and electroencephalogram during
parachute jumping (author's transl)]
[Article in French]
Gauthier P, Jouffray L, Rodi M, Gottesmann C.
Twelve subjects, experienced parachutists, have been recorded by
telemetry before, during and after free-fall parachute jumps. The
heart rate showed a statistically significant tachycardia during the
different events of the jump (exit, free-fall, opening, open parachute
and landing) compared to the baseline before boarding the aircraft.
This tachycardia indicates a stress reaction confirmed by a
significant increase of adrenalin and noradrenalin in urine. The
electroencephalographic invesitgation does not show any adnormalities.
Alpha rhythms have been recorded from alpha reactive subjects during
free-fall stabilization.
11. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine 1976 May;47(5):534-7
Prolactin, thyrotropin, and growth hormone release during stress
associated with parachute jumping.
Noel GL, Dimond RC, Earll JM, Frantz AG.
Prolactin, growth hormone, and thyrotropin (TSH) release during the
stress of parachute jumping has been evaluated in 14 male subjects.
Subjects were studied at several times before and immediately after
their first military parachute jump. All three hormones had risen
significantly 1 to 14 min after the jump, compared to mean levels
measured immediately beforehand. Earlier studies of physical exercise
by ourselves and others would suggest that emotional stress played a
role in producing changes of this magnitude. We conclude that
prolactin, TSH, and growth hormone are released in physiologically
significant amounts in association with the stress of parachute
jumping.
12. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine 1975 Feb;46(2):128-31
Telemetric control of heart adaptation during automatic and free-fall
parachute jumps.
Deroanne R, Cession-Fossion A, Juchmes J, Servais JC, Petit JM.
Telmetered heart rate recordings have been ovtaine from 17
parachutists (6 during automatic jumps) 9 Catecholamine (adrenaline
and noradrenaline) concentrations have been measured in urine and
plasma of six of these subjects. No difference appears between heart
rates recorded in the two jumps at egress and at parachute deployment.
On the other hand, higher heart rate values are recorded during
automatic jumps during descent and at ground impace. The urine
catecholamine analysis after jump shows a statistically significant
increase in adrenaline and noradrenaline concentration. It is
suggested that simulation of the orthosympathetic system is due to two
facts; muscular work performed during jumping and the emotional stress
which it involves. The importance of these two causes varies with the
jump circumstances.
I hope that this has given you some useful information. It is possible
that some books on sports medicine will also have chapters on this
topic. However, these are not so easy to identify because books are
not usually indexed in bibliographical databases. Certainly, there
are no books available on Amazon that are specifically concerned with
the physiology of skydiving and/or parachuting. |
