The Influence of Age on Blood Flow and Temperature of Acupuncture Points: A Study based on Laser Doppler Flowmetry and Infrared Thermography

Background

To date, there has been a great lack of investigation on the influence of age on blood flow and temperature of acupoints in specific regions.

Objective

This study aimed to determine the association between different age categories and acupoint blood flow/temperature on the forearm.

Methods

Acupoint blood flow and temperature were measured in healthy adults of different age categories using laser doppler flowmetry (LDF) and infrared thermography (IRT), respectively. A total of 60 eligible healthy volunteers were divided into the young group, mid age group and old age group. All groups received LDF and IRT examination. Shenmen (HT7), Shaohai (HT3), Taiyuan (LU9) and Chize (LU5) of the Heart and Lung meridians on the forearm were selected as 4 test acupoints.

Results

Regarding blood flow of the 4 test acupoints, the PU of Taiyuan (LU9) in the old age group was significantly different compared with that of the young age group (P < 0.05) and the mid age group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in PU of the other acupoints between 3 groups (all P > 0.05). Similarly, regarding acupoint temperature of the 4 test sites, the temperature of Shaohai (HT3) in the old age group was significantly different compared with that of the mid age group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in the temperature of the other 3 acupoints between 3 age groups (all P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Age category tends to have notable influence on the blood flow and temperature in specific acupoints in the forearm. Therefore, particular concerns should be taken into consideration regarding the effect of age differences for future studies in this field. Nevertheless, further studies with a large sample size and more test acupoints are needed to further verify current findings.