The effects of exercise and passive heating on the sweat glands ion reabsorption rates

The sweat glands maximum ion reabsorption rates were investigated (n = 12, 21.7 ± 3.0 years, 59.4 ± 9.8 kg, 166.9 ± 10.4 cm and 47.1 ± 7.5 mL/kg/min) during two separate endogenous protocols; cycling at 30% (LEX) and 60% VO_2max (MEX) and one exogenous trial; passive heating (PH) (43°C water lower leg immersion) in 27°C, 50%RH. Oesophageal temperature (T_es ), skin temperature (T_sk ), and forearm, chest and lower back sweat rate (SR) and galvanic skin conductance (GSC) were measured. Salivary aldosterone was measured pre-and postheating (n = 3). Using the ∆SR threshold for an increasing ∆GSC to identify maximum sweat ion reabsorption rate revealed higher reabsorption rates during MEX compared to PH (mean of all regions: 0.63 ± 0.28 vs. 0.44 ± 0.3 mg/cm² /min, P < 0.05). It was not possible to identify the ion reabsorption rate during LEX for some participants. T_es and mean T_sk were different between conditions but mean body temperature (T_b ) and local T_sk (forearm, chest and back) were similar (P > 0.05). Aldosterone increased more during MEX (72.8 ± 36.6 pg/mL) compared to PH (39.2 ± 17.5 pg/mL) and LEX (1.8 ± 9.7 pg/mL). The back had a higher threshold than the forearm (P < 0.05) but it was similar to the chest (P > 0.05) (mean of all conditions; 0.64 ± 0.33, 0.42 ± 0.25, 0.54 ± 0.3 mg/cm² /min, respectively). Although the differences between conditions may be influenced by thermal or nonthermal mechanism, our results indicate a possibility that the sweat glands maximum ion reabsorption rates may be different between exercise and passive heating without mediating skin regional differences.