Introduction: The primary objective of this study was to assess cardiovascular risk among members of the Bulgarian Antarctic expedition and identify strategies for risk reduction. The combination of intense physical and psychological stress, prolonged cold exposure, isolation, and challenging travel conditions contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, especially given the participants’ mature age, which is a key factor in greater cardiovascular disease susceptibility. Methods: This research included 29 participants (23 males and 6 females) with average ages of 43.0±8.00 y for the males and 45.5±11.31 y for the females. All participants spent 30 d in Antarctica. They were subjected to comprehensive assessments, including anthropometric measurements, physiologic evaluations, and biochemical analyses both before departure and shortly after return. The updated SCORE2 algorithm following the European guidelines was used to estimate the 10-y cardiovascular event risk, which factored in age, blood pressure, lipid profile, and smoking status. All participants underwent the veloergometer stress test under electrocardiographic control twice, before and after the expedition. Results: The results indicated that while most participants fell into the moderate-risk category, some of them exhibited elevated-risk profiles, primarily influenced by obesity, cholesterol levels, systolic blood pressure, and serum ferritin levels. No critical cardiovascular events were reported during the expedition. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of pre-expedition screening, including the conduct of an exercise stress test, targeted risk-factor management, and continuous monitoring for safeguarding the health and physiologic resilience of Antarctic expedition participants, ultimately underscoring the feasibility and necessity of cardiovascular prevention strategies in extreme environments.

Background: The number of people working in Antarctica has steadily increased. Identifying the characteristic functional changes in polar expeditioners can help preserve health, enhance work capacity, and improve adaptive potential in specific environments. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a short-term (30-day) expedition in Antarctica on selected physiological parameters among expedition participants, depending on their body mass index (BMI). Methods: Thirty-four expedition members, divided into 3 BMI groups, were examined before and after a one-month stay in Antarctica. The assessments included anthropometry, body composition analysis, blood pressure (BP) evaluation, and a cycle ergometer stress test, performed up to 85% of predicted maximal heart rate (PWC85%) with gas analyses and heart rate measured at the 3rd minute after exercise completion (HR3’), used as an indicator of cardiovascular recovery. Results: After the expedition, the participants with normal weight showed a modest but significant increase in body weight and BMI, and non-significant increases in fat mass (FM) and muscle mass (MM); cardiovascular recovery and physical working capacity were improved, while aerobic fitness remained unchanged. In the overweight group, post-expedition body weight and BMI did not change significantly, although small reductions in FM and improvements in MM, BP, PWC85%, and HR3’ were observed. Returning, the participants with obesity demonstrated non-significant improvements in body composition and modest declines in BP, together with a significant improvement in HR3’. Conclusions: Comparative analysis revealed significant differences in post-expedition changes in several functional parameters between the normal-weight and obese groups. Overall, the Antarctic expedition elicited beneficial cardiovascular and functional adaptations, particularly among overweight individuals, while body composition and aerobic capacity remained unchanged across all groups.

'Correction to: Application of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Logic to Identify Important Functional Performance Indicators in Case of Youth Hockey Players' published in 'Recent Advances in Computational Optimization'

Athletic talent represents a high level of trainability in a certain type of sport. The earlier the level of trainability is identified, the more effective the sports training of the athlete will be. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of trainability on the physical fitness of adolescent athletes as a consequence of an applied training program adequate to the age and sports experience of the athletes. This study included 52 young athletes (24 boys and 28 girls), divided into 4 groups: male athletes from the control group (n = 10, mean age 14.88 ± 1.29 years), male athletes from the experimental group (n = 14, mean age 13.72 ± 1.15 years), female athletes from the control group (n = 14, mean age 15.69 ± 1.00 years), and female athletes from the experimental group (n = 14, mean age 13.41 ± 1.68 years). The experimental groups followed a specialized 12-week program signed for the purposes of the study. All participants completed the Alpha-Fit physical fitness test battery in addition to specific fitness tests before and after the training intervention. This study showed significant differences with larger effect sizes in nearly all components of health-related and specific physical fitness for the experimental groups after the training intervention in contrast to the control groups. The results of the standing long jump in the male (184.57 ± 19.79 cm vs 200.79 ± 20.01 cm, effect size = 0.8) and female athletes (179.07 ± 18.56 cm vs 183.93 ± 16.26 cm, effect size = 0.3) from the experimental groups showed significantly better values after the intervention, which indicated that strength is highly trainable for both genders at this age (13-14 years of age). The results of this study showed that the effect of trainability on physical fitness was greater for the athletes who were following the specialized training program based on the expected transfer of development in physical qualities.

Anthropometric characteristics and anaerobic fi tness are recognized as key factors for successful sports performance. Data thereof are used for more thorough analysis and a better understanding of the results of sports performance. However, the needed data regarding adolescent girls in many sports are still scarce or absent. The aim of this study was to make a comparative assessment of the anthropometric parameters and the characteristics of the anaerobic fi tness of 15-year-old female football players and track and fi eld athletes. The study included 32 subjects who had competed in national championships in Bulgaria. We used established standards to determine the anthropometric characteristics. To determine the anaerobic power, we applied the Wingate test to assess anaerobic fi tness, which is particularly important for sports such as football and track and fi eld athletics – sprint disciplines. The two groups of studied subjects did not diff er signifi cantly in age and height, but there were statistically signifi cant diff erences between the groups in terms of weight, BMI, and Fat%. The Wingate test results also showed a statistically signifi cant diff erence between the two samples regarding the indicators Relative Peak Power (RPP) (W/kg) and Relative Average Power (RAP) (W/kg). The 15-year-old female football players studied were characterized by height that was higher than average for the age, BMI and Fat% that were average for the age, and average RPP values. The studied 15-year-old female track and fi eld athletes were characterized by height that was average for the age, BMI and Fat% that were low for the age, and high RPP values. This study is the fi rst in Bulgaria to focus on adolescent female football players and track and fi eld athletes.