Epidemiological studies have shown excess winter mortality particularly in older age groups. A question is how much these statistics are affected by age-related physiological changes in cold thermoregulation and how much due to other factors related to aging. In experimental studies concerning age and cold stress both whole-body and local exposures have been used mostly in resting subjects with minimal clothing. Older persons, particularly men over ca. 60 years, are less able to maintain core temperature during a given cold challenge compared to younger individuals. Older persons have a reduced cutaneous thermal sensitivity, and a reduced subjective thermal perception during cooling. Thus, older people may require a more intense stimulus to perform protective actions against cold stress. Older persons’ skin vasoconstrictive response to cold is diminished compared to younger persons, which seems partly related to a reduced skin vasomotor sensitivity to sympathoneuronal stimuli. The cold-induced rise in metabolic rate is attenuated in older persons, but the mechanism is unknown. Both central and peripheral components seem to be involved in the age-related changes in regulatory effector functions. Enhanced aerobic fitness may not give added protection against core cooling during cold stress in the elderly, but seems to attenuate older subjects’ heightened blood pressure response to cold. Bronchial responsiveness to face cooling may increase with age. Further studies are needed to examine the age-related changes in non-thermoregulatory responses to cold (e. g. hemodynamics, cardiac function, respiration, autonomic nervous function), and the modifying effects of acute exercise and physical training.
Key words
Age · cold stress · thermoregulation
References
1
Anderson G S, Meneilly G S, Mekjavic I B.
Passive temperature lability in the elderly.
Eur J Appl Physiol.
1996;
73
278-286
3
Budd G M, Brotherhood J R, Hendrie A L, Jeffery S E.
Effects of fitness, fatness, and age on men’s responses to whole body cooling in air.
J Appl Physiol.
1991;
71
2387-2393
4
Collins K J, Dore C, Exton-Smith A N, Fox R H, MacDonald I C, Woodward M.
Accidental hypothermia and impaired temperature homeostasis in the elderly.
Br Med J.
1977;
1
353-356
5
Collins K J, Easton J C, Belfield-Smith H, Exton-Smith A N, Pluck R A.
Effects of age on body temperature and blood pressure in cold environments.
Clin Sci.
1985;
69
465-470
8 Cooper K E, Ferguson A V. Thermoregulation and hypothermia in the elderly. In: Pozos RS, Wittmers LE eds The Nature and Treatment of Hypothermia. Minneapolis; University of Minnesota Press 1983: 35-45
10
Eurowinter Group .
Cold exposure and winter mortality from ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, and all causes in warm and cold regions in Europe.
Lancet.
1997;
349
1341-1346
11
Falk B, Bar-Or O, Smolander J, Frost G.
Response to rest and exercise in the cold: effects of age and aerobic fitness.
J Appl Physiol.
1994;
76
72-78
14
Frank S M, Raja S N, Bulcao C, Goldstein D S.
Age-related thermoregulatory differences during core cooling in humans.
Am J Physiol.
2000;
279
R349-R354
16
Heft M W, Cooper B Y, O’Brien K K, Hemp E, O’Brien R.
Aging effects on the perception of noxious and non-noxious stimuli applied to the face.
Aging (Milano).
1996;
8
35-41
20
Jennings J R, Reynolds III C F, Houck P R, Buysse D J, Hoch C C, Hall F, Monk T H.
Age and sleep modify finger temperature responses to facial cooling.
J Gerontol.
1993;
48
M108-M116
22
Keatinge W R, Donaldson G C, Bucher K, Jendritzky G, Cordioli C, Martinelli M, Katsouyanni K, Kunst A E, McDonald C, Näyhä S, Vuori I.
Winter mortality in relation to climate.
Int J Circumpolar Health.
2000;
59
154-159
25 Kenney W L. Body fluid and temperature regulation as a function of age. In: Gisolfi CV, Lamb DR, Nadel E eds Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sport Medicine: Volume 8: Exercise in Older Adults. Carmel; Cooper Publishing Group 1995: 305-352
26 Kenney W L. Thermoregulation at rest and during exercise in healthy older adults. In: Holloszy JO ed Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. Baltimore; Williams & Wilkins 1997 25: 41-76
30 Koskela H. Effects of Cold Air on Lung Function in Obstructive Lung Diseases. The Roles of Direct Airway Effects and Cutaneous Reflex Mechanisms. Kuopio University Publications D. Medical Sciences 120. Kuopio; Kuopio University Printing Office 1997
32
LeBlanc J, Cote J, Dulac S, Dulong-Turcot F.
Effects of age, sex, and physical fitness on responses to local cooling.
J Appl Physiol.
1978;
44
813-817
34
Mercer J, Sparr S, Leppäluoto J.
Proceedings from a seminar “Old and cold”. Understanding excess winter mortality in the elderly.
Int J Circumpolar Health.
2000;
59
149-284
36
Millqvist E, Bengtsson U, Bake B.
Occurrence of breathing problems induced by cold climate in asthmatics - a questionnaire survey.
Eur Respir J.
1987;
71
444-449
37
Neild P J, Syndercombe-Court D, Keatinge W R, Donaldson G C, Mattock M, Caunee M.
Cold-induced increases in erythrocyte count, plasma cholesterol and plasma fibrinogen of elderly people without comparable rise in protein C or factor X.
Clin Sci.
1994;
86
43-48
39
Ohnaka T, Tochihara Y, Tsuzuki K, Nagai Y, Tokuda T, Kawashima Y.
Preferred temperature of the elderly after cold and heat exposures determined by individual self-selection of air temperature.
J Therm Biol.
1993;
18
349-353
40
Petrella R J, Cunningham D A, Nichol P M, Thayer R.
Cardiovascular responses to facial cooling are age and fitness dependent.
Med Sci Sports Exerc.
1998;
31
1163-1168
41
Poehlman E T, Danforth Jr E.
Endurance training increases metabolic rate and norepinephrine appearance rate in older individuals.
Am J Physiol.
1991;
261
E233-E239
42 Poehlman E T, Arciero P J, Goran M I. Endurance exercise in aging humans: effects on energy metabolism. In: Holloszy JO ed Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. Baltimore; William & Wilkins 1994 22: 251-284
43
Pratley R, Nicklas B, Rubin M, Miller J, Smith A, Smith M, Hurley B, Goldberg A.
Strength training increases resting metabolic rate and norepinephrine levels in healthy 50- to 65-yr-old men.
J Appl Physiol.
1994;
76
133-137
47
Taylor N A, Allsopp N K, Parkes D G.
Preferred room temperature of young vs. aged males: the influence of thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and affect.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci.
1995;
50
216-221
48
Tochihara Y, Ohnaka T, Nagai Y, Tokuda T, Kawashima Y.
Physiological responses and thermal sensations of the elderly in cold and hot environments.
J Therm Biol.
1993;
18
355-361
49
Wagner J A, Horvath S M, Kitagawa K, Bolduan N W.
Comparisons of blood and urinary responses to cold exposures in young and older men and women.
J Gerontol.
1987;
42
173-179
54
Woodhouse P, Keatinge W R, Coleshaw S RK.
Factors associated with hypothermia in patients admitted to a group of inner city hospitals.
Lancet.
1989;
2
120-125
