Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34157736›Full record

ReviewDiving and hyperbaric medicine2021

Diving-related disorders in commercial breath-hold divers (Ama) of Japan.

Kiyotaka Kohshi, Hideki Tamaki, Frédéric Lemaître, Yoshitaka Morimatsu, Petar J Denoble, Tatsuya Ishitake

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Diving and hyperbaric medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Advances in breath-hold diving research: a state-of-the-art review.European journal of applied physiology · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Kiyotaka KohshiDivision of Neurosurgery, Nishinihon Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Hideki TamakiDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
Frédéric LemaîtreFaculty of Sport Sciences, University of Rouen, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France.
Yoshitaka MorimatsuDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
Petar J DenobleDivers Alert Network, Durham, NC, USA.
Tatsuya IshitakeDepartment of Environmental Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
Kurume University · JPCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Decompression illness (DCI) is well known in compressed-air diving but has been considered anecdotal in breath-hold divers. Nonetheless, reported cases and field studies of the Japanese Ama, commercial or professional breath-hold divers, support DCI as a clinical entity. Clinical characteristics of DCI in Ama divers mainly suggest neurological involvement, especially stroke-like cerebral events with sparing of the spinal cord. Female Ama divers achieving deep depths have rarely experienced a panic-like neurosis from anxiety disorders. Neuroradiological studies of Ama divers have shown symptomatic and/or asymptomatic ischaemic lesions situated in the basal ganglia, brainstem, and deep and superficial cerebral white matter, suggesting arterial insufficiency. The underlying mechanism(s) of brain damage in breath-hold diving remain to be elucidated; one of the plausible mechanisms is arterialization of venous nitrogen bubbles passing through right to left shunts in the heart or lungs. Although the treatment for DCI in Ama divers has not been specifically established, oxygen breathing should be given as soon as possible for injured divers. The strategy for prevention of diving-related disorders includes reducing extreme diving schedules, prolonging surface intervals and avoiding long periods of repetitive diving. This review discusses the clinical manifestations of diving-related disorders in Ama divers and the controversial mechanisms.

Indexed as

Decompression SicknessDivingStrokeBreath HoldingFemaleHumansJapanBreath-hold divingDecompression illnessDiving profilesIndigenous diversPreventionStroke

Identifiers

PMID34157736
PMCPMC8426123
OpenAlexW3173185394

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.