Study Maps Body Surface Temperature Patterns in Older Chinese Adults

Regional environmental settings and individual body composition serve as the primary determinants of body-surface temperature variation among older adults, according to a multicenter observational study conducted across multiple regions in China. Utilizing standardized infrared thermography to map surface thermal distributions, the investigation evaluated 5,225 adults aged 60 years and older to understand how peripheral thermal signatures behave across older populations.

Within the broader context of population health, surface thermal characteristics have attracted growing scientific attention because they may provide a useful, quantifiable phenotype for population-level studies of ageing. Infrared thermography provides a key technological advantage for this line of inquiry, enabling the objective, non-invasive assessment of cutaneous temperature distributions across broad anatomical expanses without physical disruption. However, despite the potential utility of thermal imaging, robust empirical evidence derived from large, multicenter cohorts had previously remained limited, prompting the investigators to systematically characterize population-level body-surface temperature patterns in older adults and examine how these profiles associate with individual and contextual factors.

To establish standardized surface measurements across diverse environmental settings, the investigators deployed standardized infrared thermography across participating centers in China, capturing thermal data from 12 predefined trunk regions on each participant. The analytical framework captured two complementary thermal metrics: the absolute regional temperature recorded at each designated anatomical site and the plane-specific relative temperature, defined in the study protocol as ΔT. Across the full study cohort of 5,225 older adults aged 60 years and older, this standardized protocol generated exactly 62,700 region-level temperature observations for structured evaluation.

The statistical architecture relied on multivariable regression modeling designed to rigorously evaluate constitution-by-region interactions while controlling for multiple potential confounding factors. In these regression models, the investigators systematically adjusted for an extensive set of covariates, including demographic parameters, anthropometric measurements, baseline physiological variables, and center-related factors. Following the primary regression modeling, the researchers carried out region-specific analyses applying false discovery rate adjustments to safeguard against statistical artifacts arising from multiple hypothesis testing. To confirm the stability and reliability of their findings, the authors executed comprehensive sensitivity analyses, which encompassed both absolute-temperature regression models and a rigorous leave-one-site-out validation framework across the participating centers.

The multivariable regression models revealed statistically significant constitution-by-region interactions, confirming that surface temperature patterns across the trunk are spatially heterogeneous rather than uniform. This spatial heterogeneity was substantiated by robust model interaction metrics, yielding a chi-square statistic of χ² = 732.41 with 88 degrees of freedom and a statistical significance level of p < 0.001. When partitioning the underlying sources of thermal variability, the regional environmental setting emerged as the single largest contributor across the population, with individual body composition representing the second most prominent driver. In contrast, individual constitutional classifications accounted for only a relatively minor fraction of the overall thermal variance, explaining between 2.0 percent and 10.9 percent across the analyzed models.

Detailed regional mapping demonstrated that the differences attributable to constitutional classifications were concentrated within distinct anatomical zones rather than distributed uniformly across the entire trunk. Specifically, constitution-related thermal variations were localized primarily to the abdominal region, the posterior lumbar region, and select areas of the thoracic cage. Across these specific anatomical zones, the observed effect sizes were modest, ranging between 0.08°C and 0.27°C. Despite their modest magnitude, these regional temperature differences remained directionally consistent throughout the various sensitivity analyses, including when tested under absolute-temperature modeling and leave-one-site-out validation.

In synthesizing their findings, the authors concluded that body-surface temperature in older adults exhibits modest but structured, spatially organized variation that is primarily governed by regional environmental settings and body composition. While the localized constitution-related differences in the abdomen, lower back, and thoracic regions proved reproducible across multiple analytical validations, the researchers explicitly emphasized that these findings must be interpreted with clinical caution. Rather than representing immediate diagnostic markers or clinically actionable findings, these regional thermal differences should currently be viewed as exploratory surface-temperature phenotypes that contribute to the fundamental understanding of population-level physiological aging.

Subject of Research: Body-surface temperature patterns in older adults

Article Title: Population-level spatial patterns of body-surface temperature in older adults: a multicenter infrared thermography study across diverse environmental settings

Article References: Dong, S., Tu, M., Tang, W., Li, W., Li, Z., Cai, Y., Wei, W., Miao, G., Bai, M., Wang, J., & Wang, Q. (2026). Population-level spatial patterns of body-surface temperature in older adults: a multicenter infrared thermography study across diverse environmental settings. Frontiers in Physiology, 17, Article 1870629. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1870629

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1870629

Keywords: body-surface temperature, infrared thermography, older adults, spatial patterns, environmental variability, body composition, population health, Population-level, spatial, patterns, body-surface, temperature