Keywords
How to Cite
Abstract
Despite the aging of the population in general and in particular in Brazil, there is not yet research on the thermal perception of Brazilian elderly. The available information is based on studies conducted in climates very different from those in Brazil. This study's purpose was to evaluate if there are significant differences in the thermal perception of the elderly in comparison with younger subjects. In an air-conditioned room, there were measured their thermal variables and applied a questionnaire to a sample of elderly. The answers to the questions about the reported thermal perception (TP), thermal comfort and preference, personal acceptability and tolerance, were related to the respective operational temperatures and with those calculated by the PMV (reference for non-elderly population). The mean operative temperature for neutrality (TP = 0) was lower than those calculated by the PMV, i.e., smaller than preferred by non-elderly; furthermore, the range of operative temperature for thermal comfort for elderly is also wider than for non-elderly. These results diverge, in principle, from those found in the international literature, by finding lower comfort temperatures for the elderly than for the non-elderly, but they may be supported by more recent studies involving circadian thermometry. Other answers to the questions show that PMV is not a good predictor of thermal comfort conditions for the elderly. As this is the first work on the subject in Brazil, it opens a discussion and invites researchers to carry out similar studies to verify its validity.
References
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEATING, REFRIGERATING AND AIR-CONDITIONING ENGINEERS. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 - Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. Atlanta, GA, 2013.
BRASIL. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Projeções da população por sexo e idade: 2000-2060. Disponível em: ftp://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Projecao_da_Populacao/Projecao_da_Populacao_2013/projecoes_2013_populacao_xls.zip. Acesso em: 03 mar. 2015.
BRASIL. PRESIDÊNCIA DA REPÚBLICA. CASA CIVIL. SUBCHEFIA PARA ASSUNTOS JURÍDICOS. Lei nº 8.842, de 4 de janeiro de 1994. Dispõe sobre a política nacional do idoso, cria o Conselho Nacional do Idoso e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial [da] República Federativa do Brasil, Brasília, DF, 4 de jan. 1994. Disponível em: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L8842.htm. Acesso em: 21 jan. 2014.
COLLINS, K. J.; HOINVILLE, E. Temperature requirements in old age. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, v. 1, n. 4, p. 165-172, 1980. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014362448000100401.
COLLINS, K. J.; EXTON-SMITH, A. N.; DORÉ, C. Urban hypothermia: preferred temperature and thermal perception in old age. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition), v. 282, n. 6259, p. 175-177, 1981. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.282.6259.175.
EDWARDS, B.; WATERHOUSE, J.; REILLY, T.; ATKINSON, G. A comparison of the suitabilities of rectal, gut, and insulated axilla temperatures for measurement of the circadian rhythm of core temperature in field studies. Chronobiology International, v. 19, n. 3, p. 579-597, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1081/CBI-120004227.
GUERGOVA S.; DUFOUR A. Thermal sensitivity in the elderly: a review. Ageing Research Reviews, v. 10, n. 1, p. 80-92, jan. 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2010.04.009.
HESCHONG, L. Thermal delight in architecture. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1979.
HUANG, H.-W.; WANG, W.-C.; LIN, C.-C. Influence of age on thermal thresholds, thermal pain thresholds, and reaction time. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, v. 17, n. 6, p. 722-726, jun. 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2009.10.003.
JOHANSSON, E.; THORSSON, S.; EMMANUEL, R.; KRÜGER, E. Instruments and methods in outdoor thermal comfort studies – The need for standardization. Urban Climate, v. 10, Part 2, p. 346-366, dec. 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2013.12.002.
MORAGAS, R. M. Gerontologia social: envelhecimento e qualidade de vida. 3. ed. São Paulo: Paulinas, 2010.
NOVIETO, D. T.; ZHANG, Y. Towards thermal comfort prediction for the older population: a review of aging effect on the human body. In: IESD PHD CONFERENCE: ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, 2010. Proceedings.... Leicester, UK: Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, 2010, p. 35-48.
RAVUSSIN, E.; BOGARDUS, C. Relationship of genetics, age, and physical fitness to daily energy expenditure and fuel utilization. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, v. 49, n. 5, p. 968-975, 1989.
RIBEIRO, L. C. C.; ALVES, P. B.; MEIRA, P. Percepção dos idosos sobre as alterações fisiológicas do envelhecimento. Ciência, Cuidado e Saúde, v. 8, n. 2, p. 220-227, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.4025/cienccuidsaude.v8i2.8202.
RUAS, A. C. Avaliação de conforto térmico: contribuição à aplicação prática das normas internacionais. 1999. 78 p. Dissertação (Mestrado em Engenharia Civil) - Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Universidade de Campinas, Campinas, 1999.
SATO, A. E.; GONÇALVES, F.; MONTEIRO, L. M. Resiliência às mudanças climáticas: conforto térmico de idosos em unidades residenciais. In: XV ENCONTRO NACIONAL DE TECNOLOGIA DO AMBIENTE CONSTRUÍDO, 15., Maceió, 2014. Anais... Maceió: ANTAC, 2014, p. 153-162. https://dx.doi.org/10.17012/entac2014.113.
SCHELLEN, L.; Van MARKEN LICHTENBELT, W. D.; LOOMANS, M. G. L. C.; TOFTUM, J.; de WIT, M. H. Differences between young adults and elderly in thermal comfort, productivity, and thermal physiology in response to a moderate temperature drift and a steady-state condition. International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health, v. 20, p. 273-283, aug. 2010. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00657.x.
SHIBASAKI, M.; OKAZAKI, K.; INOUE, Y. Aging and thermoregulation. Journal of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine, v. 2, n. 1, p. 37-47, 2013.
SIMÕES, R. Corporeidade e terceira idade. 3. ed. Piracicaba: Unimep, 1998.
TOUITOU, Y.; REINBERG, A.; BOGDAN A.; AUZÉBY, A.; BECK, H.; TOITOU, C. Age-related changes in both circadian and seasonal rhythms of rectal temperature with special reference to senile dementia of Alzheimer type. Gerontology, v. 32, p.110-118, 1986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000212774.
TSUZUKI, K; OHFUKU, T. Thermal sensation and thermoregulation in elderly compared to young people in Japanese winter season. In: INDOOR AIR 2002 - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE, 9. Monterey (CA), 2002. Proceedings… Rotterdam (Netherlands): In House Publishing, 2002, p. 659-664.
USHIDA, Y.; TAMURA, T.; IWASAKI, F. Changes in cold/warm thresholds with advancing age – the case of adult women aged from the 20s to the 80s. Sen’I Gakkaishi, v. 65, n. 5, p. 48-54, 2009. http://doi.org/10.2115/fiber.65.132.
VAN HOOF, J. Forty years of Fanger's model of thermal comfort: comfort for all? Indoor Air, v. 18, p. 182-201, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2007.00516.x.
VAN HOOF, J.; HENSEN, J. L. M. Thermal comfort and older adults. Gerontechnology, v. 4, n. 4, p. 223-228, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.4017/gt.2006.04.04.006.00.
WEINECK, J. Biologia do esporte. Barueri: Manole, 2005.
I accept that PARC Research in Architecture and Building Construction journal perform, on the original file approved for publication, revisions and modifications in orthoghaphic, grammar and standard issues.
I give to PARC Research in Architecture and Building Construction journal the rights of first publication of the revised version of my paper, licensed under the 'Creative Commons Attribution' license (which allows sharing the work with the recognition of first authorship and publication in this journal).
Downloads
