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Department of Exercise Science grad students recognized for their research achievements

June 7, 2010

Four doctoral students from the Arnold School of Public Health’s Department of Exercise Science have been cited for their research efforts.

A study, led by Ph.D. student John Siervedes, was presented Wednesday, June 2, at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 57th annual meeting in Baltimore.

The study found that men with low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are 60 percent more likely to die of stroke than men who are moderately fit or highly fit, according to the study presented Wednesday, June 2, at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 57th annual meeting in Baltimore.

While men who were physically active had fewer strokes, cardiorespiratory fitness was shown to be a more reliable predictor of stroke risk. Researchers analyzed data on 45,706 men aged 18 to 100 years, grouped as having low, moderate or high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by a maximal treadmill exercise test.

Based on self-reported information, participants were deemed as sedentary, walker-jogger-runners, or sports participants. The study was controlled for age, cholesterol levels, diabetes, smoking, alcohol use, and family history of cardiovascular disease.

The rate of fatal stroke among low-fit men was 3.2 per 10,000 man-years, compared with 2.0 for both moderately and highly fit men. Non-fatal stroke rates were 10.8, 8.9 and 6.4 for low, moderate and high fitness levels, respectively. Incidence of total stroke showed a strong inverse relationship with increasing levels of fitness. While men who ran, jogged, walked or played sports tended to have higher fitness levels, activity levels alone were not an independent predictor of stroke risk.

“These findings suggest that health professionals might consider assessing their patients’ cardiorespiratory fitness and counseling them to improve fitness levels to prevent stroke,” said Sieverdes. “While physical activity has been shown to reduce health risks, this study concluded that fitness level was closely associated with stroke prevention.”

Data for the study came from participants who were enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study in Dallas, Texas, between 1970 and 2001 and had no history of stroke, myocardial infarction or cancer at their baseline visit. Other researchers on the study, supported by a grant from the National Swimming Pool Foundation, were Dr. Mei Sui, Wonwoo Byun, and Dr. Steve Blair, all from the Department of Exercise Science.

In recent weeks, three other Arnold School exercise science graduate students have received awards or recognition for their research. They include:

• C’iana Barker, who received the ACSM’s prestigious Medical Grant Award to support her research on the effects of transcranial brain stimulation on central nervous system fatigue.
• Stephen Chen, who received a USC Graduate School Summer Dissertation Fellowship award to support him while he completes his dissertation.
• Jamie McClellan, runner-up for the ACSM Nutrition Interest Group Award. Her research focuses on the effects of herbal extracts/phytochemicals on inflammation associated with colon cancer.

Barker, Chen and McClellan work in the Psychoneuroimmunology Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Mark Davis.