Attenuation of core temperature elevation and interleukin-6 excretion during head-out hot water immersion in elderly people.
Mami Yamashiro, Yukihide Nishimura, Yukio Mikami and 6 others
PMID 32753784WHAT IT FOUND
Head-out hot water immersion failed to raise IL-6 in elderly men, unlike in young men.
Core temperature also rose less in the elderly. This method does not replicate the exercise-induced IL-6 response in older adults.
Key findings
01Serum IL-6 increased significantly in young men after 1 hour of immersion but remained stable in elderly men.
02Core temperature increased in both groups, but the rise was attenuated in elderly men compared to young men.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Very small sample size (7 elderly, 8 young). Only healthy males were studied, so results may not apply to women or frail elderly. The immersion was limited to 20 minutes to protect elderly participants from excessive core temperature rise, which may have been insufficient to trigger IL-6 release.
Declared interests
There are no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that heat stress alone can mimic the metabolic benefits of exercise in older adults. The lack of IL-6 response in the elderly group suggests this passive intervention is ineffective for this specific physiological goal.