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The influence of acclimatization on stress hormone concentration in serum during heat stress

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Abstract

This study was aimed to examine the influence of acclimatization on the change of concentration of stress hormones in men’s serum exposed to heat stress during physical training. The study included a total of 40 men, aged 19–21 years, divided randomly into four groups: CTRL group: control, exposed to the Exercise Tolerance Testing in comfortable conditions; O group: exposed to Exercise Tolerance Testing in a warm environment; P group: exposed to passive acclimation to heat for 10 days, followed by Exercise Tolerance Testing in a warm environment; A group: exposed to active acclimation to heat for 10 days, followed by Exercise Tolerance Testing in a warm environment. All participants were tested for thermoregulation and acclimatization, skin and tympanic temperature, heart rate (HR), hormonal status and sweating. The mean skin temperature was the lowest in the control group of subjects exposed to physical exertion under comfortable conditions, and at each point of measurement it was statistically significantly different from that of the other study groups (p < 0.001). Sweating intensity was statistically significantly the lowest in the CTRL group (0.32 ± 0.04 l/m2/h; p < 0.001), compared to all other groups. Cortisol was significantly altered in O group (632.2 ± 92.3; 467.2 ± 89.7), testosterone levels were significantly altered in P (19.2 ± 9.3; 16.4 ± 7.3) and in A groups (22.1 ± 12.4; 14.9 ± 9.9), while prolactin was changed in O (392.1 ± 51.3; 181.4 ± 42.3), P (595.1 ± 191.1; 191.2 ± 52.5), and A group (407.4 ± 189.3; 173.4 ± 43.9) after the experimental period. The impact of acclimatization on hormonal indicators emphasizes its importance in the response of the endocrine system of soldiers to perform military activities in warm climates.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation is part of the project MFVMA 1/20-22 funded by University of Defence, Belgrade.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Policy and Social Work, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Zoran Vesic

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia

    Vladimir Jakovljevic

  3. Department of Human Pathology, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Vladimir Jakovljevic & Sergey Bolevich

  4. Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia

    Tamara Nikolic Turnic

  5. Faculty of Sport, University Union-Nikola Tesla, Belgrade, Serbia

    Milica Vukasinovic-Vesic

  6. Institute of Hygiene, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade, Serbia

    Sonja Radakovic

Authors
  1. Zoran Vesic
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  2. Vladimir Jakovljevic
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  3. Tamara Nikolic Turnic
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  4. Milica Vukasinovic-Vesic
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  5. Sergey Bolevich
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  6. Sonja Radakovic
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Contributions

Conceptualization, ZV and SR; methodology, SB; software, SB; validation, TNT, ZV and VLJ; formal analysis, ZV; investigation, ZV; resources, MVV; data curation, ZV; writing—original draft preparation, VLJ; writing—review and editing, SR; visualization, supervision, ZV; project administration, SR; funding acquisition, SR All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vladimir Jakovljevic.

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Vesic, Z., Jakovljevic, V., Nikolic Turnic, T. et al. The influence of acclimatization on stress hormone concentration in serum during heat stress. Mol Cell Biochem 476, 3229–3239 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-021-04153-x

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