THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE HUMAN BODY DURING TRANSLATITUDE SEA VOYAGES IN THE ARCTIC
This paper studied the body's functional state in the members of the research expedition “Arctic Floating University - 2015” in the White and Barents Sea basins. A group of 44 people aged between 20 and 66 years took part in this study. The sample was divided into 2 groups by their age: up to 35 years (26 subjects) and older than 35 years (18 subjects). The functional state of the body was evaluated during the first 5 days (Phase 1) and from the 16th to the 19th day (Phase 2) of the voyage using the following computer appliances: Simona 111 Integrated Monitoring System and VNS-Spektr. The age group up to 35 years showed by the end of the voyage a statistically significant reduction in median values of systolic blood pressure by 1.5 % (p = 0.038) and of mean arterial blood pressure by 0.6 % (p = 0.049). In the group of subjects older than 35 years, cardiovascular system parameters did not change significantly during the voyage, which can be explained by a lower degree of reactivity of the cardiovascular system. The dynamics of the changes in integral indicators suggests multidirectional changes in the current functional state of the expedition members, which, however, stays within the limits of their age norms. A comparative evaluation of heart rate variability parameters shows an increasing activity of parasympathetic effects by the end of the voyage in subjects up to 35 years old and a growing activity of the sympathoadrenal system with an impact on the humoral component of regulation in subjects older than 35 years. An analysis of the data on the state of the autonomic nervous system allows us to interpret these changes as an adequate response of the cardiovascular system of the expedition members to a number of factors of the environment on board. The results showed no significant negative impacts of a short-term sea voyage in high latitudes on the functional state of the body of expedition members. However, further research into human adaptation during translatitude sea voyages is required in order to develop practical recommendations for health maintenance in people undertaking seа voyages to high latitudes.