Combined stimuli of cold, hypoxia, and dehydration status on body temperature in rats: a pilot study with practical implications for humans.

Normoxic conditions irrespective of hypoxia or dehydration did not strongly decrease the area under the curve (AUC) in Tcore during the 24 period, whereas, hypoxic conditions caused greater decreases in the AUC in Tcore, which was accentuated with cold and dehydration (Ta × O2 × hydration, P = 0.040 by three-way ANOVA). In contrast, multiple stressors (Ta × O2 × hydration or Ta × O2 or O2 × hydration or Ta × hydration) did not affect locomotor activity counts (all P > 0.05), but a significant simple main effect for O2 and Ta was observed (P < 0.001). Heat loss index was not affected by all environmental conditions (all P > 0.05). In conclusion, decreases in Tcore were most affected by multiple environmental stressors such as cold, hypoxia, and dehydration.