Observational studyEuropean journal of applied physiology2022
Protein tau concentration in blood increases after SCUBA diving: an observational study.
Observational study in European journal of applied physiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cognitive risk during underwater exposure: from environmental stressors to assessment and context-aware monitoring.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Multi-Omics Profiling of Individuals Sustaining Extreme Physical Stressors.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Impact of Recreational Diving to a Depth of 40 m on Selected Intracellular DAMPs.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Neurological Biomarker Profiles in Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Pilots and Aircrew.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- The increased protein tau in blood after SCUBA diving can be related to distal arterial bubbles.European journal of applied physiology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeIt is speculated that diving might be harmful to the nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine if established markers of neuronal injury were increased in the blood after diving.
methodsThirty-two divers performed two identical dives, 48 h apart, in a water-filled hyperbaric chamber pressurized to an equivalent of 42 m of sea water for 10 min. After one of the two dives, normobaric oxygen was breathed for 30 min, with air breathed after the other. Blood samples were obtained before and at 30-45 and 120 min after diving. Concentrations of glial fibrillary acidic, neurofilament light, and tau proteins were measured using single molecule array technology. Doppler ultrasound was used to detect venous gas emboli.
resultsTau was significantly increased at 30-45 min after the second dive (p < 0.0098) and at 120 min after both dives (p < 0.0008/p < 0.0041). Comparison of matching samples showed that oxygen breathing after diving did not influence tau results. There was no correlation between tau concentrations and the presence of venous gas emboli. Glial fibrillary acidic protein was decreased 30-45 min after the first dive but at no other point. Neurofilament light concentrations did not change.
conclusionsTau seems to be a promising marker of dive-related neuronal stress, which is independent of the presence of venous gas emboli. Future studies could validate these results and determine if there is a quantitative relationship between dive exposure and change in tau blood concentration.
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