Association of thermal perceptions, metabolic rate, clothing, and local skin temperature in people with cold constitution in air-conditioned office environments

Cold constitution refers to a phenomenon in which individuals have a higher sensitivity to cold and feel colder than others. This research aimed to examine the associations of morphological characteristics, personal factors, thermal perceptions, and local skin temperature (t_sk) with cold constitution by conducting a field experiment. It also explored differences in these aspects between individuals with and without cold constitution, in a thermoneutral office environment during summer and winter, and in 89 and 75 sedentary workers, respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted to classify the cold constitution (CC) and non-cold constitution (NC) groups. The results indicated that females and individuals with lower body mass index (BMI) were more likely to have cold constitution. The CC group exhibited a significantly lower metabolic rate (M) in both seasons, lower thermal sensation votes, warmer thermal preference, and a greater predicted percentage of dissatisfied in summer (p < 0.01). No significant differences were observed in clothing insulation between the groups; however, winter clothing was significantly higher compared to summer for both groups (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the CC group exhibited significantly lower local skin temperatures at distal body parts (p < 0.01). Significant correlations were observed for gender, BMI, M, thermal sensations, and distal t_sk with cold constitution. Adjusting the effects of gender and BMI, most correlations with cold constitution weakened. However, thermal sensation remained significant in summer, while no correlation was observed with t_sk. These findings emphasize the significant associations of morphological characteristics, personal factors, and thermal perceptions with cold constitution and show the importance of assessing the thermal environment.