Pregnant women's awareness of sensitivity to cold (hiesho) and body temperature observational study: A comparison of Japanese and Brazilian women

BACKGROUND: Sensitivity to cold (hiesho) is a serious health problem in Japan, yet it is minimally understood within Western cultures. The purpose of this study was to clarify the divergence between pregnant Japanese woman living in Japan and pregnant Brazilian women living in Brazil in awareness of hiesho and differences between core body and peripheral temperatures. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 230 pregnant Japanese women living in Japan and 200 pregnant Brazilian women living in Brazil. Data was collected in June/July and November 2005 in Japan and from October 2007 to February 2008 in Brazil. The survey methods consisted of measurement of deep body temperatures and questionnaires. RESULTS: 67.0% of Japanese women and 57.0% of Brazilian women were aware of hiesho, which showed a significant difference between the Japanese and Brazilian women (p = 0.034). The difference between forehead and sole temperatures was 2.0°C among Japanese and 2.8°C among Brazilians in June-July (p = 0.01). But in November the difference between those temperatures was 5.2°C among Japanese and 2.8°C among Brazilians (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There are differences between Japanese and Brazilians both in awareness of hiesho and in body temperatures.