Temperature as a circadian marker in older human subjects: relationship to metabolic syndrome and diabetes
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Circadian rhythms are characterized by approximate 24-hour oscillations in physiological and behavioral processes. Disruptions in these endogenous rhythms, most commonly associated with shift work and/or lifestyle, are recognized to be detrimental to health. Several studies have demonstrated a high correlation between disrupted circadian rhythms and metabolic disease. The aim of this study was to determine which metabolic parameters correlate with physiological measures of circadian temperature amplitude (TempAmp) and stability (TempStab). METHODS: Wrist skin temperature was measured in 34 subjects (ages 50 to 70, including lean, obese, and diabetic subjects) every 10 minutes for 7 consecutive days. Anthropometric measures and fasting blood draws were conducted to obtain data on metabolic parameters: body mass index, hemoglobin A1C, triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein. A history of hypertension and current blood pressure was noted. RESULTS: Analysis of the data indicated a substantial reduction in TempAmp and TempStab in subjects with metabolic syndrome (three or more risk factors). To determine the impact of individual interdependent metabolic factors on temperature rhythms, stepwise multilinear regression analysis was conducted using metabolic syndrome measurements. Interestingly, only triglyceride level was consistently correlated by the analysis. Triglyceride level was shown to contribute to 33% of the variability in TempAmp and 23% of the variability in TempStab. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that elevated triglycerides are associated with diminished TempAmp and TempStab in human subjects, and triglycerides may serve as a primary metabolic predictor of circadian parameters.
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Previous human studies have demonstrated diminished temperature amplitude in other populations with disrupted sleep including shift work, metabolic syndrome, and sleep-disordered breathing.
“This is consistent with previous human studies demonstrating diminished temperature amplitude in other populations with disrupted sleep including shift work, metabolic syndrome, and sleep-disordered breathing [[62], [63], [64]].”
From Exercise mitigates sleep-loss-induced changes in glucose tolerance, mitochondrial function, sarcoplasmic protein synthesis, and diurnal rhythms (2021) · cites this paper as [62]
Disruption of temperature rhythms has been strongly associated with metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
“disruption of temperature rhythms has been strongly associated with metabolic syndrome and diabetes15”
From Diurnal rhythms of wrist temperature are associated with future disease risk in the UK Biobank (2023) · cites this paper as [15]
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- Authors
- Harfmann, B. D., Schroder, E. A., England, J. H., Senn, N. J., Westgate, P. M., Esser, K. A., & Kern, P. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Department of Physiology and Center for Muscle Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
- Corresponding author
- Kern, Philip A.
- Venue
- Journal of the Endocrine Society
- Publisher
- The Endocrine Society
- Published
- 2017-06-02
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 843-851
- ISSN
- 2472-1972 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5686633
- OpenAlex
- W2620645009
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 0.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of the Endocrine Society (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UKnowledge (University of Kentucky) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- University of Kentucky
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR001998)
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20GM103527)
- National Center for Research Resources (P20RR021954)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Keywords
- circadian rhythm, body temperature, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, triglycerides, older adults, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia
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