The Effects of Different Temperaments on Vascular Parameters: A Pilot Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

According to the Persian Medicine (PM) point of view, the function of the cardiovascular system and the risk of cardiovascular events would be different between subjects having warm and cold temperaments. Moreover, different foods in terms of temperament may lead to different acute and chronic effects on the body.

We investigated the postprandial effects of PM-based warm and cold test meals on arterial stiffness indices in healthy men with warm and cold temperaments.

Twenty-one eligible warm or cold temperament subjects with a similar range of age, weight, and heights were enrolled in this pilot cross-over randomized controlled trial study during February- October 2020. Two test meals (cold and warm PM-based temperament foods) were designed as different interventions. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and pulse wave analysis (PWA) was obtained at the baseline state (following 12 hours fasting), 0.5, 2, and 4 hours after the test meal consumption during each test day.

Warm temperament participants had higher values of lean body mass, total body water, and protein content (P = 0.03, 0.02, and 0.02, respectively). Cold temperament individuals had higher aortic heart rate (HR) following 12 hours of fasting (P <0.001). On the other hand, the augmentation pressure (AP) of warm temperament individuals was higher than the colds ( P = < 0.001).

According to the results of the present study, although warm temperament individuals could have higher arterial stiffness at the fasting state, arterial stiffness indices had a greater reduction following warm-temperament meal intake compared to cold-temperament meal.