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Dangerous underwater breath-holding behaviors vary by age, swimming ability
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The frequency of dangerous underwater breath-holding behaviors — intentional hyperventilation, static apnea and hypoxic training — varied by age and swimming level in New York during a 24-year period, according to data published in MMWR.
Practicing more than one type of dangerous underwater breath-holding behavior was associated with an increased likelihood for drowning, according to the report.
For the case review, Christopher Boyd, of the division of environmental health at the New York City department of health and mental hygiene, and colleagues gathered data on state fatal and nonfatal drownings reported between 1988 and 2011. Sixteen dangerous underwater breath-holding behavior cases, three in New York City, were included in the review.
Overall, there were 15 incidents and four deaths. The average age of the swimmers was 17 years, and 13 were male.
Static apnea was the most commonly reported dangerous underwater breath-holding behavior (n = 6), followed by hypoxic training (n = 4), intentional hyperventilation (n = 3) and two fatalities involving a combination of behaviors. The four fatal cases were aged 17 to 22 years, were advanced to expert swimmers and were engaged in intentional hyperventilation, the report said.
Fifteen of the drownings occurred at pools — seven occurred outdoors, seven indoors and one in a wave pool. All but one drowning occurred while a lifeguard was on duty and included a lifeguard rescue attempt.
“New York City recently enacted public health education and regulations that discourage dangerous underwater breath-holding behaviors,” Boyd and colleagues wrote. “These interventions have the potential to effectively reduce unintentional drowning related to these behaviors and could be considered by other municipalities and jurisdictions.
“Incidence of this type of drowning can be prevented with interventions such as improved supervision, regulation and public education.” – by Jennifer Southall
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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