The effect of menstrual cycle phase on foot skin temperature during mild local cooling in young women

Abstract

Japanese women can experience a sensation of cold feet in daily life. It is possible that this sensation of coldness in feet may be associated with female hormones, but to date the effect of menstrual cycle phase on the skin temperature (T) of the foot during local cooling is unknown. We therefore examined T and partial cutaneous blood flow in the foot during the follicular (F) and luteal (L) phases of the menstrual cycle in women experiencing local cooling. T was measured in the toes and the dorsum of the left foot using infrared thermography, while cutaneous blood flow was evaluated in the big toe of the left foot using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), both at 28 °C. Mild local cooling (24.7 °C) was then applied for 30 min to the right foot. During cooling of the right foot, no significant differences in T were observed between the F and L phases in either the toes of the left foot or the dorsum of the left foot of all subjects. However, cutaneous blood flow determined by LDF in the big toe of the left foot was greater in the F phase than in the L phase. These results suggest that the menstrual cycle phase did not affect T in the foot, but it did affect cutaneous blood flow in the big toe during mild local cooling.

Ultradian rhythms in heart rate variability and distal body temperature anticipate onset of the luteinizing hormone surge

“…In rodents, the wavelet power of core body temperature URs exhibits a trough on the day of ovulation 12 , 13 . The translational capability of this method is supported by the association of gross timescale changes in DBT, heart rate (HR), and HRV by menstrual phase 11 , 19 , 44 , 45 , 53 , 57 – 61 . However, it is unknown if human ovulatory cycle phase is associated with patterns of rhythmic change in non-reproductive outputs.…”

Ultradian Rhythms in Heart Rate Variability and Distal Body Temperature Anticipate the Luteinizing Hormone Surge Onset

“…In rodents, the power of core body temperature URs exhibits a trough on the day of ovulation (Smarr et al, 2016(Smarr et al, , 2017. The translational capability of this method is supported by the association of gross timescale changes in DBT, HR and HRV by menstrual phase (Buxton & Atkinson, 1948;Sato et al, 1995;Leicht et al, 2003;Yildirir et al, 2006;Shechter et al, 2011;Uckuyu et al, 2013;Kräuchi et al, 2014;Brar et al, 2015;Uchida et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2020). However, it is unknown if patterns of rhythmic change from continuous measures leading up to the LH surge associate with human reproductive status.…”

Correlations between “hie-sho” interview score and progesterone, fat intake, and Kupperman index in pre- and post-menopausal women: a pilot study

“…There were 10 questions about coldness of body, and subjects who scored more than seven were defined as experiencing hie-sho. We used this scale because it has been used in previous studies [3,14,15]. In addition, the interview specializes in hie-sho, rather than the Cornell medical index that evaluates subjective mental and physical symptoms [11].…”

“…Thus, we thought that the number of items checked in the hie-sho interview questionnaire reflected the magnitude of complaints of daily unusual coldness. The total score of the interview was averaged in each group as previously reported [15].…”