Problem of the Old and the Cold

A pilot winter study of body temperatures using new measuring techniques was tested on 72 volunteers aged 65 or more living in Portsmouth. The body temperatures were related to their environmental temperature and living conditions. No case of serious hypothermia was found, but the study confirms that elderly people have lower body temperatures and suggests that the coldest individuals tended to be the least aware of discomfort from the cold; this may well place them “at risk” for developing hypothermia.