Health Consequences of Wintering in the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (MediTAAF)

Polar stays expose people to extreme climate, isolation and confinement. The combination of these factors induces psychological disorders, sleep disorders, immune and endocrine disturbances, and deficiencies. In the TAAF, (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) two types of population coexist: winter residents, exposed to these stressors over long periods, and country people, who benefit from milder conditions and only make short stays. In this context, the investigators have decided to set up this cohort study with the objective of comparing the state of health of the winterers of the TAAF from 2012 to 2017 with that of the country people of the same period, before their stay, during and the year following their return.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Endocrine System Diseases; Sleep Disorder; Environmental Exposure; Immunologic Activity Alteration; Winter Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionary

Detailed Description

Participants will answer to a questionnaire. This questionnaire will determinate participants health about following areas : psychological disorders, sleep disorders, immune and endocrine disturbances, and any deficiencies.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 232
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Réunion
  • Saint-Denis, Réunion, 97400
    • CHU de la Réunion

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

for the exposed group are:

• To have carried out one or more wintering in one of the districts of the TAAF, that means a stay of at least six consecutive months including winter;
• Have started their first wintering between 01jan2012 and 31dec2017;
• Know how to read and write French.

for the non-exposed group are:

• To have taken part in one or more summer campaigns between 01jan2012 and 31dec2017;
• Never have overwintered;
• Not having been refused wintering for health reasons or following psychological tests;
• Knowing how to read and write French.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Persons under guardianship or guardianship, deceased persons, persons refusing to participate in the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Winter residents of Southern and Antartic French Lands,; people exposed to stressors over long periods including winter	Other: Questionary; Questions about patient health after wintering in Southern and Antarctic French Lands about social and demographics items, psychologic and psychiatric items, sleep disorders, immunological disorders,and endocrinologic disorders, sociological consequences of wintering
Active Comparator: Country people going to Southern and Antartic French Lands; people going to Southern and Antarctic French Lands who benefit from milder conditions and only make short stays	Other: Questionary; Questions about patient health after wintering in Southern and Antarctic French Lands about social and demographics items, psychologic and psychiatric items, sleep disorders, immunological disorders,and endocrinologic disorders, sociological consequences of wintering

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluate incidence health disorders and sociological consequences of wintering of health of winterers (exposed) of TAAF from 2012 to 2017 with that of country people (not exposed) of the same period	Measurement tool is a questionnaire Prevalence of different pathologies will be described; Sociodemographic data; Psychological and psychiatric evaluation: Psychiatric disorder according to the College of Psychiatry Teacher; Assessment of coping strategy according to the Ways of Coping Checklist, a psychometric assessment tool recognized in the social science; Subjective perception of the state of health; Sleep disorder according to the definition of the College of Teacher of Neurology; Immunological state through the exploration of allergy according to College of Pulmonology Teacher, autoimmune disease according to the French College of Rhumatology Teacher (COFER), and infection by using the classification of infectious disease as presented in the Inserm epidemiological report; Endocrine pathology: dysthyroidism, vitamin D deficiency assessed by its complication as described by COFER; other pathologies presented in International Classification Disease	between 4 years and 9 years after polar exposure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Réunion
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nicolas BOUSCAREN, CIC 1410

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 20, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 19, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): June 19, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 17, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 22, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 24, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 21, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 20, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Mood Disorders; Neurologic Manifestations; Depressive Disorder; Sleep Wake Disorders; Endocrine System Diseases; Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020/CHU/38

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No