2020 Volume 50 Issue 5 Pages 173-178
Objective: It has been reported that increasing body temperature in the elderly confers clinical benefits such as activation of the immune system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of short bouts of exercise over a protracted period on body temperature in the elderly.
Methods: A total of 88 elderly participants were required to exercise for short bouts twice a week over a period of 2 years. The participants were divided into a below normal body temperature (n＝60) and an above normal body temperature group (n ＝ 28), with the baseline temperature set at 36.3°C.
Results: In the below normal body temperature group, body temperature showed a significant increase after 2 years (36.05 ± 0.12°C to 36.29 ± 0.12°C, p ＜ 0.0001), while no significant change was observed in the normal body temperature group (36.34 ± 0.07°C from 36.37 ± 0.13°C,). A significant negative relationship was observed between change in body temperature and body temperature at the start of training (r＝ -0.69, p＜0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that increase in body temperature was the factor most closely associated with decrease in the frequency of the common cold.
Conclusion: Short bouts of exercise over a protracted period increased body temperature and decreased the frequency of colds in the elderly, especially in those with lower baseline body temperatures.
