Abstract
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.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States among both men and women, accounting for one in every four deaths annually [1]
The mechanisms linking sauna bathing to the modulation of inflammatory markers in human trials have not yet been elucidated, these findings provide strong implications for the role of sauna bathing in mitigating inflammation in high-stress occupations (HSO)
Sauna bathing is generally recognized as safe and has emerged as a practical intervention to improve the overall health of individuals serving in an HSO
Summary
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States among both men and women, accounting for one in every four deaths annually [1]. Over half (~51%) of military service members are considered too overweight or obese (body mass index >25.0 kg/m2 ) to perform their military-specific duties [20] These data demonstrate that individuals serving in HSO work in environments that promote physiological and psychological stress and exacerbate markers of CMD. Considering that the bulk of research incorporating human models has implemented dry saunas likely due to the fact that researchers are interested in the health effects and physiological responses of direct-passive heat as opposed to moist heat, this narrative review will mainly focus on the cellular and whole-body mechanisms that dry sauna bathing might modulate and that could improve the cardiometabolic profile of these men and women
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