Mayrovitz Harvey N
Medical Education, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Davie, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Jul 28;16(7):e65590. doi: 10.7759/cureus.65590. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Information about the mechanical properties of skin and their changes with age and other conditions is important to help characterize skin physiology and pathological changes. One method to obtain this information is to measure the force required to indent the skin to a specified indentation depth (FORCE). This process measures the tissue's resistance to indentation or its compressibility and is related to the tissue's elastic modulus. Since such measurements are made in clinical and other settings at various times of day (TOD), it is useful to estimate the extent of intraday variations in FORCE that may be expected. This report focuses on this issue.
FORCE was self-measured on the volar forearm, 5 cm distal to the antecubital fossa, every two hours from 08:00 to 24:00 hours on two consecutive days by 12 medical students (six females and six males) who were trained in the measurement process using an indentation device (SkinFibroMeter). Variability in FORCE versus TOD was analyzed using the nonparametric Friedman test and differences between genders by the nonparametric Wilcoxon test. Differences between the first day (day 1) and the second day (day 2) were tested at each TOD. The whole-body fat percentage (FAT%) and water percentage (HO%) were determined for each participant via bioimpedance measurements at 50 KHz.
The age and BMI of the combined group (mean ± SD) were 24.5 ± 1.5 years and 23.2 ± 3.3 kg/m The overall average FORCE (mean ± SD) for the day over the 16 hours was 84.1 ± 22.7 mN and for day 2, it was 83.4 ± 28.5 mN with no significant difference between day 1 and day 2. For females, the overall two-day average FORCE (mean ± SD) over the 16 hours was 81.8 ± 20.3 mN and for males, it was 85.7 ± 30.1 mN with no significant difference between them (p = 0.271). Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in FORCE among TOD (p = 0.568). FORCE was not correlated with either FAT%, HTO%, or BMI.
The findings indicate no statistically significant variation in indentation force in females, males, or combined concerning the TOD of the measurement or differences between consecutive days at corresponding times. This suggests that whether such measurements are done in a research setting or within a clinic, they can be done at various TOD with minimal expected variation for a given subject. However, an extension of these findings to persons with skin conditions or ages not herein evaluated must await further study.
了解皮肤的力学特性及其随年龄和其他条件的变化，对于描述皮肤生理和病理变化非常重要。获取此类信息的一种方法是测量将皮肤压入指定压痕深度所需的力（FORCE）。该过程测量组织对压痕的抵抗力或其可压缩性，并与组织的弹性模量相关。由于此类测量是在临床和其他环境中的一天内不同时间（TOD）进行的，因此估计FORCE的日内变化程度很有用。本报告重点关注此问题。
12名医学生（6名女性和6名男性）使用压痕装置（SkinFibroMeter），在测量过程中接受培训，于连续两天的08:00至24:00每两小时在肘前窝远端5 cm处的掌侧前臂进行自我FORCE测量。使用非参数Friedman检验分析FORCE与TOD之间的变异性，并使用非参数Wilcoxon检验分析性别之间的差异。在每个TOD测试第一天（第1天）和第二天（第2天）之间的差异。通过在50 KHz下的生物电阻抗测量确定每个参与者的全身脂肪百分比（FAT%）和水分百分比（HO%）。
合并组的年龄和BMI（平均值±标准差）分别为24.5±1.5岁和23.2±3.3 kg/m²。16小时内当天的总体平均FORCE（平均值±标准差）为84.1±22.7 mN，第2天为83.4±28.5 mN，第1天和第2天之间无显著差异。对于女性，16小时内两天的总体平均FORCE（平均值±标准差）为81.8±20.3 mN，对于男性为85.7±30.1 mN，两者之间无显著差异（p = 0.271）。总体而言，TOD之间的FORCE无统计学显著差异（p = 0.568）。FORCE与FAT%、HTO%或BMI均无相关性。
研究结果表明，无论测量的TOD如何，女性、男性或合并组的压痕力在连续两天的相应时间内均无统计学显著差异。这表明，无论此类测量是在研究环境还是临床环境中进行，对于给定的受试者，在不同的TOD进行测量时，预期的变化最小。然而，将这些发现扩展到未在此评估的皮肤状况或年龄的人群，必须等待进一步的研究。
