Whole-Body Hyperthermia for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

Halonen

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

106

It is controversial if global warming will result into increased crime and conflict rate, and no causal neurobiological mechanisms have been proposed for the putative association between ambient temperature and aggressive behavior. This study shows that during 1996–2013, ambient temperature explained 10% of variance in the violent crime rate in Finland, corresponding to a 1.7% increase/degree centigrade. Ambient temperature also correlated with a one month delay in circannual changes in peripheral serotonin transporter density among both offenders and healthy control subjects, which itself correlated strongly with the monthly violent crime rate. This suggests that rise in temperature modulates serotonergic transmission which may increase impulsivity and general human activity level, resulting into increase in social interaction and risk of violent incidents. Together, these results suggest that the effect of ambient temperature on occurrence of violent crime is partly mediated through the serotonergic system, and that a 2 °C increase in average temperatures would increase violent crime rates by more than 3% in non-tropical and non-subtropical areas, if other contributing factors remained constant.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Ambient Temperature and Violent Crime

Halonen

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

106

“…First, careful (theoretical) interpretation of data is a dire necessity and not just relying on automatic 9 Although some have suggested that full-body warmth treatments can be effective against psychopathologies (Janssen et al, 2016), others have voiced their criticisms (Fried, 2016), and rightfully so. Social Thermoregulation Therapy is not just about warmth, but by associating warmth with predictability in the right social situations.…”

Section: The Risks Of Relying On Big Data and Further Ethical Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modernizing Relationship Therapy through Social Thermoregulation Theory: Evidence, Hypotheses, and Explorations

IJzerman¹,

Heine²,

Pronk³

2017

Preprint

In the present article the authors propose to modernize relationship therapy by integrating novel sensor and actuator technologies that can help optimize people’s thermoregulation, especially in social contexts. Specifically, they propose to integrate Social Thermoregulation Theory (IJzerman et al., 2015a; IJzerman & Hogerzeil, 2017) into Emotionally Focused Therapy. As such, the authors suggest to craft a Social Thermoregulation (the pleisiomorphic reliance of relationships on temperature regulation) type therapy to further improve relationship therapy. The authors outline what is known and not known in terms of social thermoregulatory mechanisms, what kind of data collection and analyses are necessary to better understand social thermoregulatory mechanisms, and stress the need to conduct Randomized Clinical Trials prior to implementation. They further warn against too hastily applying these theoretical perspectives. The article concludes by outlining why Social Thermoregulation Therapy is the way forward in improving relationship functioning.This paper was published in Frontiers:IJzerman, H., Heine, E. C., Nagel, S. K., & Pronk, T. M. (2017). Modernizing Relationship Therapy through Social Thermoregulation Theory: Evidence, Hypotheses, and Explorations. Frontiers in Psychology, 8.

“…Frequent sauna bathing has also been shown to be associated with a reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease [17] and reduces the symptoms of depression [18]. Other passive heat therapies such as Waon therapy, infrared saunas, and whole-body hyperthermia have also been shown to relieve stress and improve the symptoms of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety [18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sauna Bathing and Risk of Psychotic Disorders: A Prospective Cohort Study

Laukkanen

Kunutsor

2018

Med Princ Pract

Objective: Sauna bathing has been suggested to promote mental well-being and relaxation, but the evidence is uncertain with respect to mental disorders. We aimed to assess the association of frequency of sauna bathing with risk of psychosis in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease prospective population-based study. Subjects and Methods: Baseline sauna bathing habits were assessed in 2,138 men aged 42–61 years who had no history of psychotic disorders. Participants were classified into three groups based on the frequency of sauna bathing (once, 2–3, and 4–7 times per week). Results: During a median follow-up of 24.9 years, 203 psychotic disorders were recorded. A total of 537, 1,417, and 184 participants reported having a sauna bath once a week, 2–3 times, and 4–7 times per week, respectively. In Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, compared to men who had 1 sauna session per week, the hazard ratio (95% confidence intervals) of psychosis for 4–7 sauna sessions per week was 0.23 (0.09–0.58). In a multivariable model adjusted for several risk factors and other potential confounders, the corresponding hazard ratio was 0.21 (0.08–0.52). The association was similar after further adjustment for total energy intake, socioeconomic status, physical activity, and C-reactive protein (0.22 [0.09–0.54]) and was unchanged on additional adjustment for duration of a sauna session and temperature of the sauna bath (0.23 [0.09–0.57]). Conclusion: Our study suggests a strong inverse and independent association between frequent sauna bathing and the future risk of psychotic disorders in a general male population.