| Keywords |
The elderly ; Wearing habit in summer ; Self-identified heat tolerance ; Sex difference ; Behavioral thermoregulation |
| Abstract |
This study was conducted to investigate behavioral thermoregulatory responses and self-identified thermal tolerance in summer for elderly males and females. A total of 259 older people participated in this survey: 121 males (76.2±6.7 yr in age) and 138 females (79.2±6.7 yr in age). A questionnaire with 29 questions was used and the questions consisted of self-identified heat and cold tolerances, wearing habits, lifestyles related to the heat, and demographic characteristics. There was no difference in the number of clothes outdoor between older males (5.3±0.9 items) and females (5.5±1.0 items) but older females wore higher number of clothes at home and during sleep compared to older males (P<0.01). Older males preferred to wear clothes cooler than older females when they are inside an airconditioned building or vehicle (P<0.05). Respondents with vulnerable self-identified heat tolerance were 3.4 times higher than those with invulnerable self-identified heat tolerance while no difference was found between vulnerable and invulnerable self-identified cold tolerances. Only females had correlations between self-identified heat tolerance and wearing habit preferences related to thermal sensation for going out (r=0.343), at home (r=0.334) and during sleep (r=0.328) (P<0.01). Anthropometric variables had no correlations with self-identified heat tolerance. Sex difference should be considered when developing the guidelines for the elderly's behavioral thermoregulation in summer and advising them for improving their health and heat tolerance. |