Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40448663›Full record

ArticleExperimental physiology2026

Skin wetness perception across body sites in children and adolescents aged 7-16 years old.

Alessandro Valenza, Hannah Blount, Jade Ward, Charlotte Merrick, Riley Wootten, Jasmin Dearden, Charlotte Wildgoose, Antonino Bianco, Alex Buoite-Stella, Victoria L Filingeri and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

12 authors.

Alessandro ValenzaThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Hannah BlountThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2419-1716
Jade WardThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Charlotte MerrickThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Riley WoottenThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Jasmin DeardenThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Charlotte WildgooseThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Antonino BiancoSport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, SPPEFF Department, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Alex Buoite-StellaClinical Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, Trieste University Hospital-ASUGI University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4871-7022
Victoria L FilingeriPsychological and Behavioural Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Derby, Derby, UK.
Peter R WorsleyPressurelab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0145-5042
Davide FilingeriThermosenseLab, Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, The University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5652-395X

Funding

UKRI | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)University of Palermo
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human skin wetness perception relies on the multisensory integration of thermal and mechanical cues during contact with moisture. Yet, it is unknown whether children and adolescents perceive skin wetness similarly to younger and older adults. We investigated skin wetness perceptions across the forehead, neck, forearm, and foot dorsum in 12 children/adolescents (4F/8M; 12 ± 3 years), 41 younger (21F/20M; 25 ± 3 years), and 21 older adults (11F/10M; 56 ± 6 years), during two established quantitative sensory tests. Our results indicated that, given the same moisture content (0.8 mL of water), very cold-wet stimuli applied to the forearm were perceived by all groups as wetter than neutral-wet (mean difference: 35.5 mm on a 100-mm visual analogue scale for wetness [95% CI: 22.3, 38.7]; P < 0.0001; ∼35% difference) and very hot-wet stimuli (mean difference: 22.7 mm [95% CI: 14.5, 40.9]; P < 0.0001; ∼23% difference). Children/adolescents also reported greater wetness perceptions than older adults during cold-wet stimulation of the forehead, neck and foot dorsum (mean difference: 20.6 mm; 95% CI: 1.5, 39.7; P = 0.031; ∼21% difference). In all age groups, the foot dorsum presented higher cold-wet sensitivity (mean difference: 11.1mm [95%CI 2.2, 20.0] p = 0.010; ~11% difference) and lower warm-wet sensitivity than the neck (mean difference: 12.9mm [95%CI 2.8, 23.0] p = 0.008; ~13% difference). We conclude that wetness perceptions in children/adolescents (age range: 7-16 years) are similar to those of adults in that both present (1) a characteristic U-shaped relationship between stimulus temperature and perceived wetness magnitude and (2) similar body regional patterns. These findings provide novel evidence on age-dependent variations in wetness perception which could inform user-centred innovation in thermal protection and garment design.

Indexed as

PerceptionSkinSkin Physiological PhenomenaThermosensingTouch PerceptionAdolescentAdultChildCold TemperatureFemaleFootForearmHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeckWateradolescentsbody temperature regulationchildrenelderlyskinthermal sensationwetness perception

Identifiers

PMID40448663
PMCPMC12857481

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.