Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34609487›Full record

Observational studyThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2022

Individual Factors Including Age, BMI, and Heritable Factors Underlie Temperature Variation in Sickness and in Health: An Observational, Multi-cohort Study.

Rose S Penfold, Maria Beatrice Zazzara, Marc F Österdahl, Carly Welch, Mary Ni Lochlainn, Maxim B Freidin, Ruth C E Bowyer, Ellen Thompson, Michela Antonelli, Yu Xian Rachel Tan and 9 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Gram-negative infections in frail patients.Le infezioni in medicina · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Rose S PenfoldDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7023-7108
Maria Beatrice ZazzaraDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Marc F ÖsterdahlGuy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Carly WelchInstitute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Mary Ni LochlainnDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Maxim B FreidinDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Ruth C E BowyerDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Ellen ThompsonDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Michela AntonelliSchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Yu Xian Rachel TanDepartment of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Carole H SudreSchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Marc ModatSchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Benjamin MurraySchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Jonathan WolfZoe Global Limited, London, UK.
Sebastien OurselinSchool of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
Tonny VeenithInstitute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Janet M LordInstitute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Claire J StevesDepartment of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
GSTT Covid Collaborative
King's College London · GBUniversity of Birmingham · GBGuy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust · GBUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore · ITRoyal College of Surgeons in Ireland · IEZOE (United Kingdom) · GB

Funding

Chronic Disease Research FoundationClinical Research FacilityEuropean UnionMedical Research CouncilNational Institute for Health ResearchNIHR Biomedical Research CentreNIHR-funded BioResource, Alzheimer's SocietyWellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAging affects immunity, potentially altering fever response to infection. We assess effects of biological variables on basal temperature, and during COVID-19 infection, proposing an updated temperature threshold for older adults ≥65 years.

methodsParticipants were from 4 cohorts: 1 089 unaffected adult TwinsUK volunteers; 520 adults with emergency admission to a London hospital with RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection; 757 adults with emergency admission to a Birmingham hospital with RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 3 972 adult community-based COVID Symptom Study participants self-reporting a positive RT-PCR test. Heritability was assessed using saturated and univariate ACE models; mixed-effect and multivariable linear regression examined associations between temperature, age, sex, and body mass index (BMI); multivariable logistic regression examined associations between fever (≥37.8°C) and age; receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to identify temperature threshold for adults ≥ 65 years.

resultsAmong unaffected volunteers, lower BMI (p = .001), and increasing age (p < .001) was associated with lower basal temperature. Basal temperature showed a heritability of 47% (95% confidence interval 18%-57%). In COVID-19+ participants, increasing age was associated with lower temperatures in Birmingham and community-based cohorts (p < .001). For each additional year of age, participants were 1% less likely to demonstrate a fever ≥37.8°C (OR 0.99; p < .001). Combining healthy and COVID-19+ participants, a temperature of 37.4°C in adults ≥65 years had similar sensitivity and specificity to 37.8°C in adults <65 years for discriminating infection.

conclusionsAging affects temperature in health and acute infection, with significant heritability, indicating genetic factors contribute to temperature regulation. Our observations suggest a lower threshold (37.4°C/97.3°F) for identifying fever in older adults ≥65 years.

Indexed as

COVID-19AgedBody Mass IndexCohort StudiesHumansSARS-CoV-2TemperatureCOVID-19FeverImmunesenescenceInfectionThermoregulation

Identifiers

PMID34609487
PMCPMC8513412
OpenAlexW3202704589

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.