Correlação entre sintomas gestacionais e temperatura cutânea : estudo observacional transversal

Abstract

Introduction: During the gestational period, maternal physiological modifications manifest as signs and symptoms in the cardiovascular, integumentary, endocrine, musculoskeletal, and thermoregulation systems, potentially affecting skin temperature. However, evidence linking gestational symptoms to thermographic findings remains scarce. Objective: To correlate skin temperature with gestational symptoms across different trimesters. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted, evaluating gestational symptoms related to abdominal diastasis, pain, fatigue, and quality of life, as well as the skin temperature of 74 low-risk pregnant women, divided into three groups according to gestational trimester. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc and Pearson correlations via SPSS 22.0 software. Results: Abdominal rectus diastasis showed moderate negative correlations with mean skin temperature (r =-0.40, p = 0.001), abdominal temperature (r=-0.38, p = 0.001), linea alba region (r = -0.30, p = 0.05), thoracic region (r = -0.31, p = 0.05), and lumbar region (r = -0.30, p = 0.05). Cervical pain also showed moderate negative correlations with mean skin temperature (r = -0.26, p = 0.05), abdominal temperature (r = -0.27, p = 0.05), and lumbar region temperature (r = -0.33, p = 0.001). Foot pain was negatively correlated with skin temperature in both legs (r = -0.28, p = 0.05). Quality of life showed moderate positive correlations with skin temperature in the breast region (r = 0.29, p = 0.05), diastasis region (r = 0.27, p = 0.05), and thoracic region (r = 0.30, p = 0.05). Conclusion: The correlations of gestational symptoms were reflected in changes in skin temperature, especially in the presence of pain and abdominal diastasis. Therefore, thermography can be considered an auxiliary resource for healthcare professionals in prenatal care, as temperature mapping in pregnant women at different gestational ages provides information on thermal patterns at each stage, which is important for guiding the best care during the gestational period.