Differences in Left Ventricular Function at Rest and during Isometric Handgrip Exercise in Elite Aquatic Sport Athletes

Improved prediction of swimming talent through random forest analysis of anthropometric and physiological phenotypes

The field of competitive swimming lacks broadly applicable predictive models for talent identification across various age groups of adolescent swimmers. This study aimed to construct a predictive model for athletic talent using machine learning methods based on anthropometric and physiological data. Baseline data were collected from 5444 participants aged 10-18 in Shanghai, China, between 2015 and 2018, with 4969 completing a 3-year follow-up. Talents were discerned based on their performance over the follow-up period, revealing age- and sex- dependent developmental differences between swimmers classified as talented versus non-talented. After controlling for confounding variables, age and sex, nine machine learning algorithms were employed, with Random Forest achieving the highest performance and being selected as the final model. The model demonstrated excellent predictive performance on both the test dataset and an independent validation dataset from Shandong (n = 118), indicating its strong generalizability. Furthermore, using the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method to interpret the model, abdominal skinfold, lung capacity, chest circumference, shoulder width, and triceps skinfold were identified as the five most critical indicators for talent identification.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43657-024-00176-8.

Bibliometric study on artistic swimming

Introduction

The objective of this paper is to study the research trends in the sport modality of artistic swimming and to analyse the scientific production regarding this sport.

Methods

Two hundred and twenty articles related to the theme were selected after a search in the PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science databases and some additional records, using the theme "synchronised swimming OR artistic swimming" up to December 2022. The variables scrutinized were the following: (1) title, (2) discipline, (3) type, (4) sample size and (5) sporting level.

Results

The results indicate that (1) 53.6% of the artistic swimming articles were case studies, (2) 23.2% talked about physiology, (3) 32.7% had a sample of 11-50 participants, and (4) 30.9% of the sample was elite/international swimmers.

Discussion

Over the years there has been a considerable increase in studies on artistic swimming; the topics of greatest interest in artistic swimming have been physiology, sports performance and injuries. Even so, it seems that for the moment artistic swimming has little impact, probably due to its status as a minority sport and it having limited social and economic impact.

Cardiac Remodeling in Elite Aquatic Sport Athletes

OBJECTIVE

To characterize and compare the sport-specific cardiac structure of elite swimmers (SW), water polo players (WP), and artistic swimmers (AS).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional assessment of elite aquatic athletes' hearts.

SETTING

The athletes' village at the 2019 FINA World Championships.

PARTICIPANTS

Ninety athletes from swimming (SW) (20 M/17 F), water polo (WP) (21 M/9 F), and artistic swimming (AS) (23 F).

ASSESSMENT AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

An echocardiographic assessment of cardiac structure was performed on noncompetition days.

RESULTS

Male SW displayed primarily eccentric volume-driven remodeling, whereas male WP had a greater incidence of pressure-driven concentric geometry (SW = 5%, WP = 25%) with elevated relative wall-thickness (RWT) (SW = 0.35 ± 0.04, WP = 0.44 ± 0.08, P < 0.001). Female SW and WP hearts were similar with primarily eccentric-remodeling, but SW and WP had greater concentricity index than artistic swimmers (SW = 6.74 ± 1.45 g/(mL)2/3, WP = 6.80 ± 1.24 g/(mL)2/3, AS = 5.52 ± 1.08 g/(mL)2/3, P = 0.007). AS had normal geometry, but with increased posterior-wall specific RWT (SW = 0.32 ± 0.05, AS = 0.42 ± 0.11, P = 0.004) and greater left atrial area than SW (SW = 9.7 ± 0.9 cm2/m2, AS = 11.0 ± 1.1 cm2/m2, P = 0.003). All females had greater incidence of left ventricular (LV) posterior/septal wall-thickness ≥11 mm than typically reported (SW = 24%, WP = 11%, AS = 17%).

CONCLUSIONS

Male athletes presented classic sport-specific differentiation, with SW demonstrating primarily volume-driven eccentric remodelling, and WP with greater concentric geometry indicative of pressure-driven remodeling. Female SW and WP did not display this divergence, likely because of sex-differences in adaptation. AS had unique LV-specific adaptations suggesting elevated pressure under low-volume conditions. The overall incidence of elevated wall-thickness in female athletes may point to an aquatic specific pressure-stress.