Thermal regulation and comfort during a mild-cold exposure in young Japanese women complaining of unusual coldness.

We examined body core and skin temperatures and thermal comfort in young Japanese women suffering from unusual coldness (C, n = 6). They were selected by interview asking whether they often felt severe coldness even in an air-conditioned environment (20-26 degrees C) and compared with women not suffering from coldness (N, n = 6). Experiments were conducted twice for each subject: 120-min exposure at 23.5 degrees C or 29.5 degrees C after a 40-min baseline at 29.5 degrees C. Mean skin temperature decreased (P < 0.05) from 33.6 +/- 0.1 degrees C (mean +/- SE) to 31.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C and from 33.5 +/- 0.1 degrees C to 31.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C in C and N during the 23.5 degrees C exposure. Fingertip temperature in C decreased more than in N (P < 0.05; from 35.2 +/- 0.1 degrees C to 23.6 +/- 0.2 degrees C and from 35.5 +/- 0.1 degrees C to 25.6 +/- 0.6 degrees C). Those temperatures during the 29.5 degrees C exposure remained at the baseline levels. Rectal temperature during the 23.5 degrees C exposure was maintained at the baseline level in both groups (from 36.9 +/- 0.2 degrees C to 36.8 +/- 0.1 degrees C and 37.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C to 37.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C in C and N). The rating scores of cold discomfort for both the body and extremities were greater (P < 0.05) in C than in N. Thus the augmented thermal sensitivity of the body to cold and activated vasoconstriction of the extremities during cold exposure could be the mechanism for the severe coldness felt in C.

[1]  H. Freake,et al.  Thermogenesis and thyroid function. , 1995, Annual review of nutrition.

[2]  P. Hedner,et al.  Thyroid and adrenal response to acute cold exposure in man. , 1970, Journal of applied physiology.

[3]  J A Stolwijk,et al.  Comfort and thermal sensations and associated physiological responses during exercise at various ambient temperatures. , 1969, Environmental research.

[4]  D. Goldstein,et al.  Age-related thermoregulatory differences during core cooling in humans. , 2000, American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology.

[5]  Christian F. Bulcao,et al.  Relative contribution of core and cutaneous temperatures to thermal comfort and autonomic responses in humans. , 1999, Journal of applied physiology.

[6]  Bruce A. Hertig,et al.  Physiology of Heat Regulation and the Science of Clothing , 1969 .

[7]  P. O. Fanger,et al.  Thermal comfort: analysis and applications in environmental engineering, , 1972 .

[8]  C. G. Blomqvist,et al.  Interactions between surface cooling and LBNP-induced central hypovolemia. , 1980, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[9]  W. D. McArdle,et al.  Thermal adjustment to cold-water exposure in resting men and women. , 1984, Journal of applied physiology: respiratory, environmental and exercise physiology.

[10]  I. Mekjavic,et al.  Evaluation of predictive formulae for determining metabolic rate during cold water immersion. , 1986, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[11]  C R Wyss,et al.  Control of skin blood flow, sweating, and heart rate: role of skin vs. core temperature. , 1974, Journal of applied physiology.

[12]  E. Jéquier,et al.  Thyroid hormones and thermogenesis: the metabolic cost of food and exercise. , 1984, Metabolism: clinical and experimental.

[13]  M. Cabanac,et al.  The perception of thermal comfort , 1965 .

[14]  A. Nelson,et al.  Thermal and metabolic responses of high and low fat women to cold water immersion. , 1998, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[15]  L. Lindblad,et al.  Neural regulation of vascular tone and cold induced vasoconstriction in human finger skin. , 1990, Journal of the autonomic nervous system.

[16]  B. Rolls,et al.  Aging and disturbances of thirst and fluid balance. , 2009, Nutrition reviews.

[17]  E. Nadel,et al.  Importance of skin temperature in the regulation of sweating. , 1971, Journal of applied physiology.

[18]  S. Pettit,et al.  Gender differences in cardiovascular and catecholamine responses to cold-air exposure at rest. , 1999, Canadian journal of applied physiology = Revue canadienne de physiologie appliquee.

[19]  D. Matthews,et al.  Effect of cortisol on energy expenditure and amino acid metabolism in humans. , 1995, The American journal of physiology.

[20]  J. M. Coulson,et al.  Heat Transfer , 2018, Finite Element Method for Solids and Structures.

[21]  A. Young,et al.  Effects of aging on human cold tolerance. , 2007, Experimental aging research.

[22]  C. Gordon Behavioral and Autonomic Thermoregulation in the Rat Following Propylthiouracil-induced Hypothyroidism1 , 1997, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[23]  S. Toubro,et al.  Low resting metabolic rate in subjects predisposed to obesity: a role for thyroid status. , 1996, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[24]  Lawrence E. Marks,et al.  Magnitude-matching: the measurement of taste and smell , 1988 .

[25]  J. Johnson,et al.  Selective abolition of adrenergic vasoconstrictor responses in skin by local iontophoresis of bretylium. , 1989, The American journal of physiology.

[26]  J F Hall,et al.  Thermal comfort in disparate thermal environments. , 1969, Journal of applied physiology.

[27]  L. Fleisher,et al.  Adrenergic, respiratory, and cardiovascular effects of core cooling in humans. , 1997, The American journal of physiology.

[28]  C. J. Gordon,et al.  Comparison of heat and cold stress to assess thermoregulatory dysfunction in hypothyroid rats. , 2000, American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology.

[29]  J D Hardy,et al.  Comfort and thermal sensations and associated physiological responses at various ambient temperatures. , 1967, Environmental research.

[30]  Refrigerating ASHRAE handbook and product directory /published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc , 1977 .

[31]  Hee-Eun Kim,et al.  Effects of the menstrual cycle on dressing behavior in the cold , 1995, Physiology & Behavior.

[32]  D L Kellogg,et al.  Role of sympathetic nerves in the vascular effects of local temperature in human forearm skin. , 1993, The American journal of physiology.