Responses of disabled, temporarily ill and elderly persons to thermal environments.

This paper presents a part of the findings of ASHRAE research project RP-885, a literature review on the responses of disabled persons to thermal environments. An extensive literature review on the impairment of thermoregulation and thermal sensation has been carried out to collect data on physical, physiological, and psychological responses of persons who suffer from various disabilities, diseases, or genetic disorders, as well as those taking medications, and elderly persons. Characterization of skin temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, skin blood flow, and core temperatures of the different populations was collected, when such information existed. Based on the literature review, thermoregulation abnormalities are present for different types of categories of persons. However, the data were not applicable or pertinent in all instances. In addition, in the literature review there was no mention of the variables that might differ between healthy and disabled subjects, e.g., posture, clothing distribution. Definite and solid conclusions could only be drawn to specific conditions set in the articles under study. Variations in experimental conditions, types and number of subjects, physiological parameters, and effects of drugs, missing data, etc., made the task of drawing conclusions complex. When adequate information was found,