抄録
Increasing ratio of elderly population calls not only attention to the common health problems related to ageing and but the necessity to fight against these problems more effectively and protect the health and wellbeing of elderly population and keep them healthy as long as possible.
Balneological treatments have been being used widely in many countries for treating certain pathologies mostly the rheumatic diseases for centuries. Recently, beyond the therapeutic effects of diverse balneotherapeutic factors and interventions, their possible preventive effects are being more intensively considered by the investigators. With the expectation that they might play a preventative role on human health in general, beneficial effects of balneotherapy, mud therapy, thalassotherapy and hydrotherapy are being increasingly investigated and documented. Even though the studies reporting these beneficial effects are not directly related to the biological and physiological processes which are predominant in the elderly population, some results reported in the publications might be considered as anti-aging effects. With this perspective a review of existing literature obtained after a comprehensive database search relieved that balneology interventions seem to attenuate a remarkable range of aging processes and phenotypes in apparently with their proven effects on attenuation of inflammatory and oxidative processes.
The evidence on the positive effects of investigated balneological and climatological factors and interventions on the conserved aging phenotypes indicates that balneology and spa tradition could be a tool for healthy and graceful ageing.
