[Determinants for diagnosis of young women with and without chilliness]

Chilliness in women is a symptom of menopause, but there is increasing evidence that young women also suffer from chilliness, which can lead to mental problems such as insomnia and mood disorders. We elucidated methodological issues related to recognizing young women suffering from chilliness. Ninety-seven female university students were divided into two groups by their self-awareness of chilliness. Using a new questionnaire, we evaluated the severity of their physical, mental and chilliness-related complaints. We also measured several physical parameters (BMI, body fat ratio, basal metabolism, blood pressure). The peripheral circulation dynamics were measured using a laser tissue blood flowmeter, while recovery of the skin surface temperature after mild cold-water immersion was determined using thermography. There were significant differences in the severity of the chilliness-related complaints, peripheral circulation dynamics, skin surface temperature, and the rate of skin surface temperature recovery between the control and chilliness groups. Using these items, discriminant analysis using the Mahalanobis generalized distance revealed that the discrimination hit ratio was approximately 84.5%, while the misclassification ratio was approximately 16.3%. We suggest that both the rate of skin surface temperature recovery after mild cold stress and the severity of chilliness-related complaints are essential items for discriminating between participants with and without chilliness.