Serum concentrations of thyroid and adrenal hormones and TSH in men after repeated 1 h-stays in a cold room
Korhonen, I.; Hassi, J.; Leppäluoto, J.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health 60(4): 604-608
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 1239-9736 PMID: 11768440 Document Number: 538322
We exposed six healthy men to 1-h cold air (10 degrees C) daily for 11 days and measured adrenal and thyroid hormones and TSH in serum before and after the cold air exposure on days 0, 5 and 10. We observed that on days 0, 5 and 10 the resting levels and the levels after the cold exposure in serum adrenaline, thyroid hormones and TSH did not significantly change, whereas the serum noradrenaline levels showed a significant 2.2-2.5-fold increase in response to the cold air exposures. The increases were similar indicating that the subjects did not show signs of habituation in their noradrenaline responses. Therefore the 1-h cold air exposure is not sufficiently intensive to reduce the cold-induced sympathetic response.