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Effects of Cold Training on the Thyroid Gland and Parameters of Lipid Metabolism in Residents of the Northeast of Russia

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Abstract

Effects of low-temperature water training on the thyroid gland size and some parameters of lipid metabolism were studied in long-term residents of the northeast of Russia. Under the conditions of the Far North, the thyroid gland size was increased to the size of a goiter in 100% of women involved in active cold training for 6–10 years. In the same period, a similar increase was found in 67% of men, and only after 10 years of cold training did this level increase to 100% of men. In these two groups, as compared to subjects who did no cold training (the control group), the ratio of low-density lipoproteins to high-density lipoproteins (the atherogenicity coefficient) was significantly lower. This suggested that active cold training promotes the resistance of the to atherosclerosis, which very often develops under the conditions of the North, especially in migrants from central Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia.

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Maksimov, A.L., Gorbachev, A.L. Effects of Cold Training on the Thyroid Gland and Parameters of Lipid Metabolism in Residents of the Northeast of Russia. Human Physiology 29, 183–187 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022998611656

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