Navigating the Depths of Cardiovascular Effects on Submariners
Cardiol Rev. 2024 Aug 28. doi: 10.1097/CRD.0000000000000780 PDF behind a paywall
Ramsha Mahmood 1, Meet A Patel 2, F N U Anamika 3, Tanveer Shaik 1, Priyanka Aggarwal 4, Nikita Garg 5, Suryabir Singh Kamboj 6, Vasu Gupta 7 8, Rohit Jain 9
The environment of the submariner is inherently endowed with several health risk factors, namely confinement, inactivity, caloric excess, and circadian disruption, among others, during deployment. Metabolic disturbances, increased cardiovascular risk, and sleep deprivation are associated with interrupting circadian rhythms due to routines contributing to physiological and cognitive abnormalities.
Additionally, submariners face vitamin deficits of vitamin D and vitamin B12 due to little exposure to sunlight and poor nutrition. It is associated with cardiovascular dysfunctions, endothelial dysfunctions, metabolic abnormalities, and a greater cardiovascular risk. Moreover, high obesity prevalence has been noted among submariners. Such cases were attributed to leptin resistance, body fat deposits, and lifestyle statistics. Other risk factors to the cardiovascular system, like changes in heart rate variability and heart functions, have been witnessed. These health challenges can be mitigated by adopting proactive steps to address submariners' specific health needs. Such measures should include the prevention of stable circadian rhythms, vitamin intake, lifestyle, and cardiovascular health. By addressing these issues, submariners' well-being will be upheld, and their vulnerability to cardiovascular diseases and other health-related complications will be lessened.
VitaminDWiki - Submariners vitamin D levels continued to drop while on patrol (no surprise) – Dec 2013
Seems like the following photo of the UK submariners was just an experiment, not an on-going practice