Not Quite a Fever, But Still A Mortality Risk Marker? Observational data make the case in apparently healthy population

The reference temperature of 98.6°F (37°C) inadequately describes the variation in normal body temperatures, an observational study found. After controlling for factors like age and race, every unexplained 0.149°C increase in body temperature was linked to 8.4% relative greater odds of mortality within the year, or an absolute increase of 0.52% (P=0.014) among patients seen at outpatient clinics of a large academic hospital in 2009-2014 (n=35,488). The average temperature of this study group made up of individuals who were expected to have normal body temperatures, having neither a diagnosis for an infection nor a prescription for antibiotics at the time, was actually 97.9°F (90% https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/generalprimarycare/69906?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-12-15&eun=g721819d0r&pop=0&ba=1&pos=3&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202017-12-15&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days