ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health2020
Cold Water Swimming-Benefits and Risks: A Narrative Review.
Review in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 94 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cold-water exposure and psychological outcomes in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical effects of Kneipp hydrotherapy: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- Factors influencing acute tympanic temperature changes during cold water exposure.International journal of circumpolar health · 2026Article
- Ambient Cold Exposure Modulates B-Cell Distribution via Glucocorticoid-CXCR4 Signaling.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Winter Bathing: An Ice-Cold Strategy for Improving Quality of Life for People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of Swimming at Different Water Temperatures on Muscle and Adipose Tissue Adaptation in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.International journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- The meaning of cold bathing in middle aged and elderly people in Sweden - a phenomenological hermeneutic study.International journal of circumpolar health · 2025Article
- Assessment of arrhythmias and heart rate response in healthy adolescents performing face immersion and body submersion in ice-cold water.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- The untapped potential of cold water therapy as part of a lifestyle intervention for promoting healthy aging.GeroScience · 2025Review
- Thermal physiology of open water wetsuited swimming: A cohort study.Temperature (Austin, Tex.) · 2025Article
- Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of cold-water exposure on mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Swimming in cold water increases the browning process by diminishing the Myostatin pathway.Molecular biology reports · 2024Article
- Effects of swimming in cold water on lipolysis indicators via fibroblast growth factor-21 in male Wistar rats.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2024Article
- Effect of regular winter swimming on blood morphological, rheological, and biochemical indicators and activity of antioxidant enzymes in males.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Effect of a single immersion in cold water below 4 °C on haemorheological properties of blood in healthy men.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The Effect of Cold-Water Swimming on Energy Metabolism, Dynamics, and Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Muscles of Aging Rats.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Blood Morphological and Biochemical Indicator Characteristics in Men Performing Different Physical Activities in the Cold-A Preliminary Report.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Laboratory Analysis of the Renal Function Changes Under Long-Term Exposure to Extremely Low Ambient Temperatures: Case Report.Therapeutic hypothermia and temperature management · 2024Article
- Hypothesized mechanisms of death in swimming: a systematic review.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Water intake and obesity: By amount, timing, and perceived temperature of drinking water.PloS one · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cold water swimming (winter or ice swimming) has a long tradition in northern countries. Until a few years ago, ice swimming was practiced by very few extreme athletes. For some years now, ice swimming has been held as competitions in ice-cold water (colder than 5 °C). The aim of this overview is to present the current status of benefits and risks for swimming in cold water. When cold water swimming is practiced by experienced people with good health in a regular, graded and adjusted mode, it appears to bring health benefits. However, there is a risk of death in unfamiliar people, either due to the initial neurogenic cold shock response or due to a progressive decrease in swimming efficiency or hypothermia.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.