Niu H H, Lui P W, Hu J S, Ting C K, Yin Y C, Lo Y L, Liu L, Lee T Y
Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi (Taipei). 2001 Aug;64(8):459-68.
The aims of this study were (a) to establish normative data of thermal symmetry (left vs. right) in normal subjects; (b) to compare the skin temperature in various regions between young and old people in Taiwan and between male and female.
The skin surface of 57 healthy volunteers (aged 24 to 80 yr) was divided into 25 areas and measured by an infrared thermography (Avionics TVS-2000, Japan). The average temperatures of these 25 regions were compared: (a) left vs. right side, (b) young (< or = 60 yr, n = 37) vs. old (> 60 yr, n = 20), and (c) male vs. female. Student's t-test was used to assess means between both groups.
The neck carried the highest skin temperature (31.9 degrees C +/- 0.6; mean +/- SD) of the body in comparison with the toes that had the lowest one (27.5 degrees C +/- 2.0). The side-to-side temperature differences were subtle, which did not exceed 0.5 degrees C. The average skin temperature of elderly was slightly lower than that of young subjects in 11 out of 25 areas (p < 0.05), especially the distal parts of extremities. Elderly female had lower skin temperature in various truncal areas as compared with their counterpart. However, the skin temperature was higher in the distal extremity (p < 0.05).
The thermoregulatory system is substantially symmetrical. The result of this study offered valuable normative database on skin thermal symmetry in normal population of Taiwan, and may be useful as a diagnostic aid in patients with various states of disorders associated with autonomic dysfunctions.
本研究的目的是：（a）建立正常受试者热对称性（左与右）的标准数据；（b）比较台湾年轻人与老年人以及男性与女性不同区域的皮肤温度。
57名健康志愿者（年龄24至80岁）的皮肤表面被分为25个区域，并用红外热成像仪（日本航空电子公司TVS - 2000）进行测量。比较这25个区域的平均温度：（a）左侧与右侧；（b）年轻人（≤60岁，n = 37）与老年人（> 60岁，n = 20）；（c）男性与女性。采用学生t检验评估两组之间的均值。
与脚部最低皮肤温度（27.5℃±2.0）相比，颈部皮肤温度最高（31.9℃±0.6；均值±标准差）。左右两侧温度差异细微，不超过0.5℃。在25个区域中的11个区域，老年人的平均皮肤温度略低于年轻人（p < 0.05），尤其是四肢远端。老年女性与老年男性相比，其躯干各区域皮肤温度较低。然而，老年女性四肢远端皮肤温度较高（p < 0.05）。
体温调节系统基本对称。本研究结果为台湾正常人群皮肤热对称性提供了有价值的标准数据库，可能有助于诊断各种与自主神经功能障碍相关疾病状态的患者。
