ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the effect of military performance stress on the changes of concentrations in salivary chromogranin A ( CgA) ,β-endorphin (β-EP) and salivary IgA ( sIgA) of submariners.Methods Twenty-nine submarine soldiers were selected, and their saliva samples were collected separately at the end of a long dive trip and nine months after relaxation ashore.In addition,the saliva samples of twenty-eight graduate students were collected as the normal control.The method of ELISA was used to detect the level of salivary CgA,β-EP and sIgA.Results After long-term dive training, the submariners showed significantly decreased CgA,β-EP and sIgA.Conclusion After a long term dive trip, chronic military performance stress is associated with the decline of salivary CgA,β-EP and sIgA, indicating that the function of sympathet-ic adrenal medulla is suppressed.The biological significance of these changes needs to be assessed in the future.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of mental health and sleep quality of the armored military performance ,pro-viding a theoretical basis for improving the performance of military officers and soldiers .Methods 276 armored military were se-lected randomly to study the performance ,including military training program evaluation(40% ) ,armored vehicles operating assess-ment(40% ) and leadership assessment(20% ) ,the test results as a percentage of the sum to exceed 80 divided into good and poor performance for the military .Symptom Checklist(SCL-90) and Scale Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI) were assessed ,and to evaluate the performance differences between good and poor military .Results (1)The good performance of armored military were 61 .2% ,and 38 .8% ones were poor .(2)The SCL-90 scores ,interpersonal sensitivity ,anxiety and hostility factors of good military performance were significantly lower than those with poor military performance(P<0 .05) .(3)The PSQI scores of Good military performance was 5 .83 ± 2 .94 ,and the poor was 7 .63 ± 3 .85 ;The sleep quality ,sleep latency ,sleep efficiency and daytime dysfunc-tion factors of good military performance subjective were significantly lower than those of poor military performance(P<0 .05) . Conclusion Psychological status and quality of sleep are important factors to influence performance of military armored force .
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the significance of salivary cortisol , dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and cortisol/DHEA-S ratio changes for evaluation of military performance stress .Methods Forty submarine soldiers were selected, whose saliva samples were collected separately at the end of long-term dive training and after nine months of relaxation break.In addition, the saliva samples of thirty-four graduate students were collected the moment they finished a three-hour final examination and one week later .The method of ELISA was used to detect the levels of salivary cortisol and DHEA-S and to count their ratio .Results After long-term dive training , the submarine soldiers showed significantly decreased DHEA-S and an increased cortisol/DHEA-S ratio, but the cortisol level did not change very much .In contrast, the final examination stress did not change the level of cortisol , DHEA-S or the cortisol/DHEA-S ratio among these students.Conclusion This is the first study to show that long-term, chronic military performance stress is associated with the salivary DHEA-S and cortisol/DHEA-S ratio changes .The increase in the cortisol/DHEA-S ratio may be used as an important and useful biomarker to evaluate chronic stress .In addition , it is relatively simple and sensitive to detect stress biomarkers by using saliva samples .