Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37262028›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2023

Efficacy of Cooling Centers for Mitigating Physiological Strain in Older Adults during Daylong Heat Exposure: A Laboratory-Based Heat Wave Simulation.

Robert D Meade, Sean R Notley, Ashley P Akerman, James J McCormick, Kelli E King, Ronald J Sigal, Glen P Kenny

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. The physiology of survival: Heat.Experimental physiology · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Staying cool during heat exposure.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Heat-Related Health Risks for People Experiencing Homelessness: A Rapid Review.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine responses to extreme heat exposures in young and older adults.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2024
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Robert D MeadeHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-5922-4082
Sean R NotleyHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5065-5000
Ashley P AkermanHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-9194-2148
James J McCormickHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2729-2077
Kelli E KingHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-6232-2860
Ronald J SigalHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-8324-717X
Glen P KennyHuman and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-8683-6973

Funding

CIHR 180242CIHR 399434
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealth agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, recommend that heat-vulnerable older adults without home air-conditioning should visit cooling centers or other air-conditioned locations (e.g., a shopping mall) during heat waves. However, experimental evidence supporting the effectiveness of brief air-conditioning is lacking.

objectiveWe evaluated whether brief exposure to an air-conditioned environment, as experienced in a cooling center, was effective for limiting physiological strain in older adults during a daylong laboratory-based heat wave simulation.

methodsForty adults 64-79 years of age underwent a 9-h simulated heat wave (heat index: 37°C) with (cooling group,

resultsCore temperature was 0.8°C (95% CI: 0.6, 0.9) lower in the cooling group compared with the control group at the end of the cooling intervention ( DISCUSSION: Brief air-conditioning exposure during a simulated heat wave caused a robust but transient reduction in core temperature and cardiovascular strain. These findings provide important experimental support for national and international guidance that cooling centers are effective for limiting physiological strain during heat waves. However, they also show that the physiological impacts of brief cooling are temporary, a factor that has not been considered in guidance issued by health agencies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11651.

Indexed as

Hot TemperatureSkin TemperatureCold Temperature

Identifiers

PMID37262028
PMCPMC10234508

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.