Older is colder: observations on body temperature among nursing home subjects.

OBJECTIVE

To compare diurnal body temperature between young and old subjects.

DESIGN

Analysis of oral temperatures obtained from 167 elderly subjects residing in the nursing home and 21 high school students.

SETTING

Two nursing homes and a high school.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 167 nursing home subjects and 21 high school students.

MEASUREMENTS

Oral temperatures were measured in the morning and afternoon among nursing home subjects and high school students using an electronic digital thermometer.

RESULTS

The average age of old and young subjects was 82.5 and 14.6 years, respectively. Mean morning temperature was not different between the old (97.3 +/- 0.82 degrees F) and young (97.1 +/- 1.03 degrees F). In young subjects, afternoon temperatures increased by 0.69 +/- 1.15 degrees F to 97.8 +/- 0.92 degrees F (P < .05) while temperatures in old subjects rose by 0.14 +/- 1.11 degrees F to 97.4 +/- 0.93 degrees F (P > .05). The increase during the day was greater for young subjects compared with the old (P < .04). Two of 20 young and 8 of 167 old subjects had temperatures of 98.6 degrees F or greater in the morning while 3 of 20 young and 21 of 163 old subjects achieved this temperature or higher in the afternoon.

CONCLUSION

Both older and young subjects have mean oral body temperatures lower than 98.6 degrees F. Relatively few young and old subjects even achieve this temperature. The diurnal rise in body temperature was less among nursing home subjects compared with younger subjects.