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Possible Teratogenic Hyperthermia and Marathon Running
Richard C. Orselli, MD
South Bay Hospital Redondo Beach, Calif
JAMA. 1980;243(4):332.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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To the Editor.—
The letter from Carl F. Schaefer, PhD (241:1892, 1979), may cause unnecessary anxiety among women marathoners of childbearing age unless certain qualifications are added. He warned that exercise-induced hyperthermia may cause birth defects. However, he should have added the following:
- The literature he cited1-3 shows an association between birth defects and disease-induced maternal fever. In these cases, there are the known fetal hazards of pathogens, drugs, and maternal anorexia.
- There are no reports of exerciseinduced hyperthermia resulting in birth defects in humans or animal models.
- Sauna-induced hyperthermia is actually associated with a reduced incidence of these so-called hyperthermia-associated congenital malformations.4
- There are good reasons to expect the marathoner's life-style to have favorable effects on the fetus. Persons who take up this sport tend to smoke less, weigh less, and make efforts to improve their diet. With these qualifications in mind, Schaefer's warning seems
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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