Although hot flashes are linked to menopause, research indicates that women gradually experience a rise in body temperature from early adulthood through middle age.
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A fascinating study reveals that a woman’s resting body temperature incrementally increases each year from age 18 to 42. The underlying reasons for this phenomenon remain largely unexplored, paving the way for innovative solutions like temperature-sensing wearables to monitor aging and detect perimenopause alongside other health issues.
According to Marie Gombert-Labedens from SRI International, a renowned research institute in California, “We believe temperature signals provide substantial insights into health.” She hopes this research will uncover new health markers that could serve as invaluable tools for maintaining our well-being.
In studies from the 1990s, over 750 women aged 18 to 42 tracked their oral or rectal temperatures daily upon waking. Findings indicated that women generally recorded lower body temperatures during the first half of their menstrual cycle, rising during ovulation. This temperature shift is frequently utilized by fertility tracking applications to determine fertile phases.
Upon further analyzing this data, Gombert-Labedens and her team discovered a slight annual increase in body temperature correlated with age, noting that women over 35 had temperatures about 0.05°C higher than their younger counterparts during both phases of the menstrual cycle.
This data suggests that continuous finger skin temperature monitoring via smart rings shows women aged 42 to 55 are, on average, warmer than those aged 18 to 35.
While more research is needed to elucidate this temperature increase, it may be linked to hormonal changes, particularly leading into the later reproductive years. The onset of perimenopause accompanies a rapid rise in body temperature, commonly resulting in hot flashes and night sweats, although the exact mechanisms still require clarification.
The study focused on women who were not utilizing hormonal contraception and did not have hormonal disorders, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), leaving questions about how these elements might influence long-term body temperature changes.
Further investigation has shown that after menopause, women’s body temperatures generally return to lower levels, similar to men’s. This shift can normalize temperature dynamics among genders.
Gombert-Labedens posits that the increase in body temperature around midlife may offer insights into why some women report feeling warmer as they age. “We speculate that the elevated body temperatures in middle-aged women could alter their sensitivity and reactions to environmental temperatures,” she states.
As advanced temperature-sensing devices and smart rings become integral in health monitoring, they could potentially reveal crucial patterns and anomalies in individual temperature trends, signaling the approach of menopause, estimating biological aging rates, and even detecting early signs of conditions like ovarian cancer, according to Gombert-Labedens.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
