Institute of Sport Sciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Science, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
J Physiol. 2024 Nov;602(21):5757-5783. doi: 10.1113/JP285230. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
Intermittent hypoxia (IH) is commonly associated with pathological conditions, particularly obstructive sleep apnoea. However, IH is also increasingly used to enhance health and performance and is emerging as a potent non-pharmacological intervention against numerous diseases. Whether IH is detrimental or beneficial for health is largely determined by the intensity, duration, number and frequency of the hypoxic exposures and by the specific responses they engender. Adaptive responses to hypoxia protect from future hypoxic or ischaemic insults, improve cellular resilience and functions, and boost mental and physical performance. The cellular and systemic mechanisms producing these benefits are highly complex, and the failure of different components can shift long-term adaptation to maladaptation and the development of pathologies. Rather than discussing in detail the well-characterized individual responses and adaptations to IH, we here aim to summarize and integrate hypoxia-activated mechanisms into a holistic picture of the body's adaptive responses to hypoxia and specifically IH, and demonstrate how these mechanisms might be mobilized for their health benefits while minimizing the risks of hypoxia exposure.
间歇性低氧（IH）通常与病理状况有关，特别是阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停。然而，IH 也越来越多地被用于促进健康和表现，并且正在成为一种针对许多疾病的有效非药物干预手段。IH 对健康是有害还是有益，在很大程度上取决于缺氧暴露的强度、持续时间、次数和频率，以及它们引起的特定反应。对缺氧的适应性反应可以防止未来的缺氧或缺血性损伤，提高细胞的弹性和功能，并增强精神和身体表现。产生这些益处的细胞和系统机制非常复杂，不同成分的失效会使长期适应转变为适应不良，并导致疾病的发展。我们在这里不是详细讨论 IH 所引起的个体反应和适应性的特征，而是旨在将缺氧激活的机制总结和整合到机体对缺氧和特定 IH 的适应性反应的整体图景中，并展示如何在最小化缺氧暴露风险的同时，利用这些机制来获得其健康益处。
