Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 27;18(3):1105. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031105.
Components of the metabolic syndrome (i.e., hypertension, insulin resistance, obesity, atherosclerosis) are a leading cause of death in the United States and result in low-grade chronic inflammation, excessive oxidative stress, and the eventual development of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD). High-stress occupations (HSO: firefighters, police, military personnel, first responders, etc.) increase the risk of developing CMD because they expose individuals to chronic and multiple stressors (i.e., sleep deprivation, poor nutrition habits, lack of physical activity, psychological stress). Interestingly, heat exposure and, more specifically, sauna bathing have been shown to improve multiple markers of CMD, potentially acting as hormetic stressors, at the cellular level and in the whole organism. Therefore, sauna bathing might be a practical and alternative intervention for disease prevention for individuals with HSO. The purpose of this review is to detail the mechanisms and pathways involved in the response to both acute and chronic sauna bathing and collectively present sauna bathing as a potential treatment, in addition to current standard of care, for mitigating CMD to both clinicians and individuals serving in HSO.
代谢综合征的组成部分（即高血压、胰岛素抵抗、肥胖、动脉粥样硬化）是导致美国死亡的主要原因，导致低度慢性炎症、过度氧化应激，并最终导致心脏代谢疾病（CMD）。高压力职业（HSO：消防员、警察、军人、急救人员等）增加了患上 CMD 的风险，因为它们使个体暴露于慢性和多种压力源（即睡眠不足、不良的营养习惯、缺乏身体活动、心理压力）中。有趣的是，热暴露，更具体地说，桑拿浴已被证明可以改善 CMD 的多个标志物，在细胞水平和整个生物体中作为应激原发挥作用。因此，桑拿浴可能是 HSO 个体疾病预防的一种实用和替代干预措施。本综述的目的是详细描述对急性和慢性桑拿浴的反应所涉及的机制和途径，并将桑拿浴作为一种潜在的治疗方法，除了当前的标准治疗外，还可以减轻 CMD，这对临床医生和 HSO 中的个体都有帮助。
