Long term effects of recreational SCUBA diving on higher cognitive function

Walter Hemelryck, P. Germonpré, V. Papadopoulou, M. Rozloznik, C. Balestra

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    We investigated long-term effects of SCUBA diving on cognitive function using a battery of neuropsychometric tests: the Simple Reaction Time (REA), Symbol Digit Substitution (SDS), Digit Span Backwards (DSB), and Hand-Eye Coordination tests (EYE). A group (n=44) of experienced SCUBA divers with no history of decompression sickness was compared to non-diving control subjects (n=37), as well as to professional boxers (n=24), who are considered at higher risk of long term neurological damage. The REA was significantly shorter in SCUBA divers compared to the control subjects, and also more stable over the time course of the test. In contrast, the number of digits correctly memorized and reordered (DSB) was significantly lower for SCUBA divers compared to the control group. The results also showed that boxers performed significantly worse than the control group in three out of four tests (REA, DSB, EYE). While it may be concluded that accident-free SCUBA diving may have some long-term adverse effects on short-term memory, there is however, no evidence of general higher cognitive function deficiency.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)928-934
    Number of pages7
    JournalScandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
    Volume24
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2014

    Keywords

    • Adverse effects
    • Boxing
    • CNS
    • Central Nervous System
    • Injury
    • Memory
    • Neuropsychology
    • Physiology

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