Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Population Health Metrics
Published in: Population Health Metrics 1/2010

Open Access 01-12-2010 | Research

Thermal discomfort with cold extremities in relation to age, gender, and body mass index in a random sample of a Swiss urban population

Authors: Maneli Mozaffarieh, Paola Fontana Gasio, Andreas Schötzau, Selim Orgül, Josef Flammer, Kurt Kräuchi

Published in: Population Health Metrics | Issue 1/2010

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The aim of this epidemiological study was to investigate the relationship of thermal discomfort with cold extremities (TDCE) to age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) in a Swiss urban population.

Methods

In a random population sample of Basel city, 2,800 subjects aged 20-40 years were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating the extent of cold extremities. Values of cold extremities were based on questionnaire-derived scores. The correlation of age, gender, and BMI to TDCE was analyzed using multiple regression analysis.

Results

A total of 1,001 women (72.3% response rate) and 809 men (60% response rate) returned a completed questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed the following findings: Younger subjects suffered more intensely from cold extremities than the elderly, and women suffered more than men (particularly younger women). Slimmer subjects suffered significantly more often from cold extremities than subjects with higher BMIs.

Conclusions

Thermal discomfort with cold extremities (a relevant symptom of primary vascular dysregulation) occurs at highest intensity in younger, slimmer women and at lowest intensity in elderly, stouter men.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Flammer J, Orgul S: Optic nerve blood-flow abnormalities in glaucoma. Prog Retin Eye Res 1998, 17: 267-289. 10.1016/S1350-9462(97)00006-2CrossRefPubMed
2.
Saner H, Wurbel H, Mahler F, Flammer J, Gasser P: Microvasculatory evaluation of vasospastic syndromes. Adv Exp Med Biol 1987, 220: 215-218.PubMed
3.
4.
Bourgeois M: [Psychiatric considerations on neuro-vegetative dystonia]. Bord Med 1970, 3: 609-613.PubMed
5.
Nagashima K, Yoda T, Yagishita T, Taniguchi A, Hosono T, Kanosue K: Thermal regulation and comfort during a mild-cold exposure in young Japanese women complaining of unusual coldness. J Appl Physiol 2002, 92: 1029-1035.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Pache M, Kräuchi K, Cajochen C, Wirz-Justice A, Dubler B, Flammer J, Kaiser HJ: Cold feet and prolonged sleep-onset latency in vasospastic syndrome. Lancet 2001, 358: 125-126. 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)05344-2CrossRefPubMed
7.
Teuchner B, Orgul S, Ulmer H, Haufschild T, Flammer J: Reduced thirst in patients with a vasospastic syndrome. Acta Ophthalmol Scand 2004, 82: 738-740. 10.1111/j.1600-0420.2004.00376.xCrossRefPubMed
8.
Wunderlich K, Zimmerman C, Gutmann H, Teuchner B, Flammer J, Drewe J: Vasospastic persons exhibit differential expression of ABC-transport proteins. Mol Vis 2003, 9: 756-761.PubMed
9.
Flammer J, Pache M, Resink T: Vasospasm, its role in the pathogenesis of diseases with particular reference to the eye. Prog Retin Eye Res 2001, 20: 319-349. 10.1016/S1350-9462(00)00028-8CrossRefPubMed
10.
Flammer J: Glaucoma: A Guide for Patients, An Introduction for Care Providers, A Quick Reference. Bern: Hans Huber; 2001.
11.
Flammer J, Orgul S, Costa VP, Orzalesi N, Krieglstein GK, Serra LM, Renard JP, Stefansson E: The impact of ocular blood flow in glaucoma. Prog Retin Eye Res 2002, 21: 359-393. 10.1016/S1350-9462(02)00008-3CrossRefPubMed
12.
Kaiser HJ, Flammer J, Burckhardt D: Silent myocardial ischemia in glaucoma patients. Ophthalmologica 1993, 207: 6-7. 10.1159/000310398CrossRefPubMed
13.
Flammer J, Mozaffarieh M: Autoregulation, a balancing act between supply and demand. Can J Ophthalmol 2008, 43: 317-321.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Kräuchi K, Fontana Gasio P, Vollenweider S, Von Arb M, Dubler B, Orgül S, Flammer J, Zemp Stutz E: Cold extremities and difficulties initiating sleep: evidence of co-morbidity from a random sample of a Swiss urban population. J Sleep Res 2008, 17: 420-426. 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00678.xCrossRefPubMed
15.
Hasler PW, Orgül S, Gugleta K, Vogten H, Zhao X, Gherghel D, Flammer J: Vascular dysregulation in the choroid of subjects with acral vasospasm. Arch Ophthalmol 2002, 120: 302-307.CrossRefPubMed
16.
McArdle WD, Magel JR, Gergley TJ, Spina RJ, Toner MM: Thermal adjustment to cold-water exposure in resting men and women. J Appl Physiol 1984, 56: 1565-1571.PubMed
17.
Pettit SE, Marchand I, Graham T: Gender differences in cardiovascular and catecholamine responses to cold-air exposure at rest. Can J Appl Physiol 1999, 24: 131-147.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Prisby R, Glickman-Weiss EL, Nelson AG, Caine N: Thermal and metabolic responses of high and low fat women to cold water immersion. Aviat Space Environ Med 1999, 70: 887-891.PubMed
19.
Cunningham DJ, Stolwijk JA, Wenger CB: Comparative thermoregulatory responses of resting men and women. J Appl Physiol 1978, 45: 908-915.PubMed
20.
Wyndham Ch, Morrison Jf, Williams Cg, Bredell Ga, Peter J, Vonrahden Mj, Holdsworth Ld, Vangraan Ch, Vanrensburg Aj, Munro A: Physiological Reactions To Cold Of Caucasian Females. J Appl Physiol 1964, 19: 877-880.PubMed
21.
Wagner JA, Horvath SM: Influences of age and gender on human thermoregulatory responses to cold exposures. J Appl Physiol 1985, 58: 180-186.PubMed
22.
Hardy JD, Du Bois EF: Differences between Men and Women in Their Response to Heat and Cold. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1940, 26: 389-398. 10.1073/pnas.26.6.389CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Bernstein LM, Hick FK, Inouye T, Johnston LC, Ryan R: Body composition as related to heat regulation in women. J Appl Physiol 1956, 9: 241-256.PubMed
24.
Stevens GH, Graham TE, Wilson BA: Gender differences in cardiovascular and metabolic responses to cold and exercise. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1987, 65: 165-171.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Yasui T, Uemura H, Irahara M, Arai M, Kojimahara N, Okabe R, Yasutomo I, Tashiro S, Sato H: Differences in sensitivity to cold in Japanese men and postmenopausal women aged > or = 50 years. Gend Med 2007, 4: 359-366. 10.1016/S1550-8579(07)80065-9CrossRefPubMed
26.
Hayward MG, Keatinge WR: Roles of subcutaneous fat and thermoregulatory reflexes in determining ability to stabilize body temperature in water. J Physiol 1981, 320: 229-251.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
27.
Smith RM, Hanna JM: Skinfolds and resting heat loss in cold air and water: temperature equivalence. J Appl Physiol 1975, 39: 93-102.PubMed
28.
Allen JA: The influence of physical conditions on the genesis of species. Rad Rev 1877, 1: 108-140.
29.
Temple DH, Auerbach BM, Nakatsukasa M, Sciulli PW, Larsen CS: Variation in limb proportions between Jomon foragers and Yayoi agriculturalists from prehistoric Japan. Am J Phys Anthropol 2008, 137: 164-174. 10.1002/ajpa.20853CrossRefPubMed
30.
Gompper B, Vollenweider S, Renz C, van Someren EJW, Wirz-Justice A, Orgül S, Flammer J, Kräuchi K: Ambulatory measurement of skin temperatures and the sleep-wake-cycle in women with vasospastic syndrome and controls. Sleep 2007,30(Abstr Suppl):A51-A52.
31.
Vollenweider S, Wirz-Justice A, Flammer J, Orgül S, Kräuchi K: Chronobiological characterization of women with primary vasospastic syndrome: body heat loss capacity in relation to sleep initiation and phase of entrainment. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2008, 294: R630-R638.CrossRefPubMed
32.
33.
Von Arb M, Gompper B, Meyer AH, Zemp Stutz E, Orgül S, Flammer J, Kräuchi K: Relationship between gender role, anger expression, thermal discomfort and sleep onset latency in women. Biopsychosoc Med 2009., 3: 11,1–7 10.1186/1751-0759-3-11
34.
Grieshaber MC, Staub JJ, Flammer J: The potential role of testosterone in central serous chorioretinopathy. Br J Ophthalmol 2007, 91: 118-119. 10.1136/bjo.2006.098277CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
35.
Orgül S, Kaiser HJ, Flammer J, Gasser P: Systemic blood pressure and capillary blood-cell velocity in glaucoma patients: a preliminary study. Eur J Ophthalmol 1995, 5: 88-91.PubMed
36.
Kräuchi K, Cajochen C, Werth E, Wirz-Justice A: Warm feet promote the rapid onset of sleep. Nature 1999, 401: 36-37. 10.1038/43366CrossRefPubMed
37.
Kräuchi K: The thermophysiological cascade leading to sleep initiation in relation to phase of entrainment. Sleep Med Rev 2007, 11: 439-451. 10.1016/j.smrv.2007.07.001CrossRefPubMed
38.
Gasser P, Meienberg O: Finger microcirculation in classical migraine. A video-microscopic study of nailfold capillaries. Eur Neurol 1991, 31: 168-171. 10.1159/000116670CrossRefPubMed
39.
Anders D, Vollenweider S, Hofstetter M, Wirz-Justice A, Orgül S, Flammer J, Kräuchi K: Women with difficulties initiating sleep and vasospastic syndrome exhibit lower heart rate variability in the high frequency band. Sleep 2008,31(Suppl):A29.
Metadata
Title
Thermal discomfort with cold extremities in relation to age, gender, and body mass index in a random sample of a Swiss urban population
Authors
Maneli Mozaffarieh
Paola Fontana Gasio
Andreas Schötzau
Selim Orgül
Josef Flammer
Kurt Kräuchi
Publication date
01-12-2010
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Population Health Metrics / Issue 1/2010
Electronic ISSN: 1478-7954
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-7954-8-17

Other articles of this Issue 1/2010

Population Health Metrics 1/2010 Go to the issue

Research

Cause-of-death ascertainment for deaths that occur outside hospitals in Thailand: application of verbal autopsy methods

Research

Algorithms for enhancing public health utility of national causes-of-death data

Research

Using breath carbon monoxide to validate self-reported tobacco smoking in remote Australian Indigenous communities

Research

Measuring the health of the Indian elderly: evidence from National Sample Survey data

Research

Deaths of infants subject to forensic autopsy in Estonia from 2001 to 2005: what can we learn from additional information?

Research

Schizophrenia in Thailand: prevalence and burden of disease