Electric Fans Don't Cool Elders Exposed to Extreme Heat and Humidity

Heat and humidity can be dangerous for older adults, who often use electric fans to try to cool off. A small study suggests that this seemingly sensible approach might have counterintuitive effects. Investigators asked nine older adults (3 men and 6 women; mean age, 68) to sit for about 2 hours in a room maintained at a temperature of 42°C (i.e., 107.6°F). Participants wore shorts (plus sports bras for women). After 30 minutes at a relative humidity of 30%, relative humidity in the room was increased by 2% every 5 minutes until it reached 70% (total time, 130 minutes). On separate randomly assigned days, participants sat in the room with or without a 16-inch electric fan facing them from 1 meter away. Participants were allowed no fluid inta…