Understanding the impact of cardio-metabolic disease on endurance athletes
Published: 24 Nov 2022
Participants running at the Standard Chartered Marathon in 2019. Photo Credits: The IRONMAN Group, Singapore
Cardio-metabolic disease may be hidden and unexpected, even among athletes and those who are health conscious, although estimates of disease prevalence among this group vary widely. Cardio-metabolic disease refers to medical conditions where the heart works defectively because of abnormal energy and nutrient utilisation.
Why do seemingly fit runners suddenly collapse and die? What underlying conditions do these athletes harbour that defy easy detection?
We suspect that a lot more can be done to assess and uncover the cardio-metabolic health status of runners. Moreover, how many people who participate in endurance races and sports that put prolonged stress on the cardiovascular system are at risk of disease? Does high-performance running impact cardio-metabolic health? What can be done to detect these conditions before they present with catastrophic results?
The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) is collaborating with the IRONMAN Group, organisers of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2022 on a long-term study to find the answers to these questions.
Professor Roger Foo, principal investigator of the study, said they will be inviting participants in this year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon to sign up for the study.
“We will start first with inviting runners to participate in questionnaires, raise awareness and offer accurate evidence-based education for cardio-metabolic health. Through questionnaires initially, we will gather data on current medical histories, family histories and exercise, dietary and behavioural information. In the longer term, we aim to carry out multi-layers of clinical analysis to measure cardio-metabolic parameters and identify effective biomarkers for assessing cardio-metabolic health.”
Added Dr Mayank Dalakoti, Associate Consultant Cardiologist at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore, “The public often believe themselves to be “healthy” whilst not diagnosed with disease, but the reality is much more a wide continuum. Young, and even exercise-conscious adults may appear apparently healthy but harbour measurable cardio-metabolic abnormality. Cardio-metabolic ill health may be reversible if detected and managed early.”
A co-lead of the study and also Director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit at the National University Heart Centre, Singapore is Dr Yeo Tee Joo. An avid runner, he is convinced of the long-term viability of the study.
“With the help of our partners, we aim to establish a robust study that allows us to investigate the impact of cardiometabolic health on exercise and vice versa, working towards prevention of potentially serious consequences in seemingly healthy individuals and ultimately, improving the overall health status of the population,” he adds.
Mr Santoz Kumar, General Manager of Singapore for the IRONMAN Group said, “We recognise the importance of cardio-metabolic health, especially in endurance sports such as long-distance running. Hence, we are happy to support NUS Medicine in learning more about the correlation between cardio-metabolic health and fitness, and hope that this will create and generate more long-term interest in cardiovascular health among our participants. We also see this as a good collaboration that benefits not only our participants, but also public health knowledge among Singaporeans.”
For those interested in becoming a study participant, please click here or scan the QR code below to register your interest.
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