Age-related impairments in physiological responses to heat stress undoubtedly contribute to this increased risk ( 32). These data indicate that moderate increases in body temperature during passive heat stress do not differentially compromise cognitive function in younger and older adults.Īdults over the age of ∼65 yr are at an increased risk of illness, injury, hospitalization, and death during heat waves ( 23, 29, 33– 36, 63, 64). Reaction time generally improved during heat stress, but there was no effect of heat stress on accuracy in either group. For tests that measured executive function, overall, accuracy on OTS was lower, and reaction time was slower in the older group ( P ≤ 0.05). For tests that measured memory, accuracy on SSP and PRM was lower ( P < 0.01) in the older group, but there was no effect of heat stress ( P ≥ 0.14). Heat stress had no effect ( P ≥ 0.09) on RVP or CRT accuracy in either group. During heat stress, RVP reaction time improved ( P < 0.01) in both groups. For tests that measured attention, reaction time during RVP and CRT was slower ( P ≤ 0.01) in the older group.

Testing was undertaken on two occasions during each trial, at baseline and after internal temperature had increased by 1.0 ± 0.2☌ or after a time control period. Cognitive tests (outcomes: accuracy and reaction time) from the CANTAB battery evaluated attention, memory, and executive function. In a randomized, crossover design, 15 older (age: 69 ± 5 yr) and 14 younger (age: 30 ± 4 yr) healthy subjects underwent passive heat stress and time control trials. We tested the hypothesis that attention, memory, and executive function are impaired to a greater extent in passively heat-stressed older adults than in passively heat-stressed younger adults.

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