A team of physiologists at the University of Ottawa’s Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit reports that use of an electric fan during periods of high temperatures by older people does not lower core body temperatures. In their studypublished in JAMAthe group conducted experiments with elderly volunteers using fans in high-temperature conditions.
As several heat waves have struck parts of North America, high numbers of older people have died of heat stroke. This was notable due to the location of many of the deaths—the Pacific Northwest, where extremely high temperatures are rare. Because of the rarity of such high temperatures, many people in the region do not have air conditioners.
Prior research has shown that older people are at higher risk of dying of heat stroke due to their diminished ability to reduce their body temperature. One notable problem is less efficient sweating.
During heat waves, officials in the affected regions suggested that older people without access to air conditioning use electric fans to stay cool. In this new effort, the research team tested the approach to see if the advice was valid.
The researchers recruited 18 people ranging in age from 65 to 72, who sat in a climate-controlled temperature chamber with an electric fan. The temperature and the fan settings were both controlled by the research team. All the volunteers were monitored during the experiments to ensure they did not become overheated.
The researchers kept the temperature inside the chamber at a steady 36°C, with a humidity level of 45%. The fans had three spin settings: off, slow and fast. All three settings were tested with the volunteers.
The researchers found that neither the slow nor the fast setting had any measurable impact on core body temperature—it was the same as if the fan was off. They also found that the slow setting did little to make the volunteers feel cooler, but the fast setting did, which, they suggest, was dangerous. Because they felt somewhat cool, the volunteers did not realize that their core body temperatures might be rising to dangerous levels.
More information:
Fergus K. O’Connor et al, Effect of Electric Fans on Body Core Temperature in Older Adults Exposed to Extreme Indoor Heat, JAMA (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2024.19457
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Citation: Electric fans fail to lower core body temperature of seniors during heat waves, study finds (2024, October 30) retrieved 30 October 2024 from
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