Maintenance of core temperature in SCUBA divers in cold water: contributions of anthropometrics, suit type, and sex.

Tucker Orman, Karleigh E Bradbury, Tim Grosshennig, Makayla Perez, Fabian N Möller, Željko Dujić, Andrew T Lovering

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Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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7 authors.

Tucker OrmanDepartment of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, 1025 University St., 218 Pacific Hall, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA.

Karleigh E BradburyDepartment of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, 1025 University St., 218 Pacific Hall, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA.

Tim GrosshennigDepartment of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, 1025 University St., 218 Pacific Hall, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA.

Makayla PerezDepartment of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, 1025 University St., 218 Pacific Hall, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA.

Fabian N MöllerAerospace Physiology Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.

Željko DujićDepartment of Integrative Physiology, University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia.

Andrew T LoveringDepartment of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, 1025 University St., 218 Pacific Hall, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA. lovering@uoregon.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7826-4290

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Maintenance of core temperature (Tc) is vital for health and physiological function while SCUBA diving in cold water, but there is little research investigating the influence of anthropometrics, suit type, and sex on the rate of change in Tc during real-world diving conditions. We measured the rate of change in Tc (telemetric pill) and thermal sensation (Ts; Young questionnaire) in 62 participants (32 female) before and after non-decompression SCUBA dives using open circuit apparatus breathing air at varied depths and durations in cold water (~ 10 °C). Twenty-three participants wore drysuits (11F), and 39 participants wore wetsuits (21F). There was a significant effect of suit type on the rate of change in Tc, with those in wetsuits having a greater decrease in Tc than those in drysuits. However, there was no effect of suit type on the rate of change in Ts. In wetsuit and drysuit groups, there were significant associations between Tc/min and BSA/BM, BMI, and BM. Estimated body fat % (BF%) was significantly associated with the rate of change in Tc in the wetsuit group only. When separated by sex, there were significant associations with all the anthropometric variables and the rate of change in Tc in the female participants, but only with BM in the wetsuit males. These results suggest that drysuits offer greater thermal protection compared to wetsuits in 10 °C water, and anthropometrics should be considered when selecting the degree of thermal protection, especially for female divers.

Indexed as

Body TemperatureBody Temperature RegulationCold TemperatureDivingProtective ClothingAdultFemaleHumansMaleSex FactorsYoung AdultBody temperatureCold water immersionThermoregulationWetsuit

Identifiers

PMID40908408

DOI10.1007/s00421-025-05961-5

PMCPMC12948925

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LicenceCC BY

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