Cold Exposure
Conditions
Keywords
blood, rheology, cold, blood morphology, biochemistry, exercise
Brief summary
Exposure of the human body to cold water triggers numerous beneficial physiological changes. The study aimed to assess the impact of regular winter swimming on blood morphological, rheological, and biochemical indicators and activity of antioxidant enzymes in males. The study includes winter swimmers and a control group. Blood samples were taken twice - before the start (November) of the winter swimming season and after its end (March). The average duration of ice water baths was 3-5 minutes, with a minimum frequency of once a week. The water temperature during the swimming did not exceed 10°C, approaching 0°C during the winter period.
Interventions
OTHERwinter swimming
Intervention involves bathing/swimming in cold water during the winter months in open waters
Sponsors
University School of Physical Education, Krakow, Poland
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
25 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Good health, practitioners of winter swimming * control group: never did winter swimming and had a sedentary lifestyle.
Exclusion criteria
* medical contraindications to winter bathing
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| blood sampling: platelets and leukocytes | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Measurements of: Platelets \[thousands/μl\], Leukocytes \[thousands/μl\], Neutrophils \[thousands/μl\], Eosinophils \[thousands/μl\], Basophils \[thousands/μl\], Lymphocytes \[thousands/μl\], Monocytes \[thousands/μl\]. |
| blood sampling: erythrocytes | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Measurement of: Erythrocytes \[mln/μl\], |
| blood sampling: haemoglobin | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of: Haemoglobin \[g/dl\], mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) \[g/dl\], |
| blood sampling: haematocrit | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of: haematocrit \[%\], red blood cell distribution width coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) \[%\], |
| blood sampling: haemoglobin mass | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of: mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) \[pg\], |
| blood sampling: Erythrocytes | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) \[fl\], red blood cell distribution width standard deviation (RDW-SD) \[fl\], |
| blood sampling: rheology part 1 | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of red cell elongation index (EI) \[arbitrary unit: AU\], erythrocyte aggregation amplitude (AMP) \[AU\], |
| blood sampling: rheology part 2 | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of: aggregation index (AI) \[%\], |
| blood sampling:rheology part 3 | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of: half-time of total aggregation (t1/2) \[s\]. |
| blood sampling: oxidative stress | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Measurement of catalase (CAT) \[nmol/min/ml\], and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) \[nmol/min/ml\]. |
| blood sampling: oxidative stress - superoxide dismutase | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Measurement of superoxide dismutase (SOD) \[U/ml\], |
| blood biochemistry: Urea | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Measurement of: Urea \[mmol/l\]. |
| blood sampling: Testosterone | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of Testosterone concentration \[ng/dl\], |
| blood sampling: Cortisol | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of Cortisol concentration \[µg/dl\], |
| blood biochemistry: Creatine | twice: before the start of cold swimming in November and 5 months later (March), after the end of winter swimming | Determination of Creatinine concentration \[µmol/l\], |
Countries
Poland
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAneta Teleglow
University of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland
Outcome results
None listed