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Body mapping of regional sweat distribution in young and older males

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posted on 2020-10-01, 13:31 authored by Nicole Coull, Anna West, Simon HodderSimon Hodder, Patrick WheelerPatrick Wheeler, George HavenithGeorge Havenith
Abstract Purpose Given the pressing impact of global warming and its detrimental effect on the health of older populations, understanding age-related changes in thermoregulatory function is essential. Age differences in regional sweat distribution have been observed previously, but given the typically small measurement areas assessed, the development of whole body sweat maps for older individuals is required. Therefore, this study investigated age-related differences in regional sweat distribution in a hot environment (32 °C/50%RH) in young and older adults, using a body mapping approach. Methods Technical absorbent pads were applied to the skin of 14 young (age 24 ± 2 years) and 14 older (68 ± 5 years) males to measure regional sweat rate (RSR) at rest (30 min) and during exercise (30 min), at a fixed heat production (200 W m−2). Gastrointestinal (Tgi) and skin temperature (Tsk), heart rate, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort were also measured. Results Whole body sweat maps showed that despite equal heat production, healthy older males had significantly lower gross sweat loss (GSL) than the young and significantly lower RSR at almost all body regions at rest and at the hands, legs, ankles, and feet during exercise. The lower sweat loss in the older group coincided with a greater increase in Tgi and a consistently higher Tsk at the legs, despite subjectively feeling slightly cooler than younger individuals. Conclusion These findings support the evidence of age-related deterioration in both autonomic and subjective responses in the heat and highlight the lower extremities as the most affected body region.

Funding

Loughborough University (Design School)

History

School

  • Design and Creative Arts
  • Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Department

  • Design

Published in

European Journal of Applied Physiology

Volume

121

Pages

109-125

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Rights holder

© The authors

Publisher statement

This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Springer under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Acceptance date

2020-09-12

Publication date

2020-09-29

ISSN

1439-6319

eISSN

1439-6327

Language

  • en

Depositor

Prof George Havenith. Deposit date: 30 September 2020

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