Table 4.

Occupational hand cold water exposure.

Reference	Study Sample	Habituation Length	Habituation Temperature	Cold Testing Procedure	Results/Findings
LeBlanc [72]	14 Gaspe Fishermen	Occupational (intermittent but daily), several hours per day for 2–25 yrs	Sea water temperature: 11°C, Air temperature: 9.4–12.4°C	10 min 30°C hand water bath, 10 min 2.5°C water hand immersion, 10 min in room air	With hand cold bath, Gaspe fishermen had ↓ blood pressure, ↑ finger temperature, ↓ reported pain, and ↑ heat flow from the hands; ↑ number of mast cells present in the hand skin of the fishermen
LeBlanc [145]	Exp #1: 10 Gaspe Fishermen; 11 CON; Exp #2: 6 Gaspe; 7 CON	Occupational (intermittent but daily), several hours per day for 2–25 yrs	Sea water temperature: 11°C, Air temperature: 9.4–12.4°C	Exp #1: 5 min 2.5°C foot immersion; Exp #2: 5 min 2.5°C hand immersion 4 months after end of fishing season	Exp #1: Gaspe fishermen had ↓ BP response, ↓ foot Tsk; Exp #2: Gaspe fishermen able to retain ↓ BP response 4 months outside of seasonal exposure, both Gaspe and CON had ↓ BP response in winter vs summer
Nelms [74]	11 British fish filleters; 9 CON	Occupational: left hand water immersion or cold fish handling 4–8 hrs/day	−1 to 8°C water exposure; concurrent general cold wind exposure dockside	0°C ice water hand immersion	Earlier onset and greater magnitude of vasodilation in the filleters, Tsk ↑ with immersion during initial vasoconstriction and subsequent vasodilation, ↓ acute and lasting pain sensations
LeBlanc [146]	7 Gaspe Fishermen; 7 CON	Occupational (intermittent but daily), several hours per day for 2–25 yrs; data collected 1 ½ months into fishing season	Sea water temperature: 11°C, Air temperature: 9.4–12.4°C	Naked 1 hr 15°C cold air exposure	Gaspe had ↑ Tsk, ↑ shivering (especially with those with greatest Tsk) but ↔ metabolic heat production; ↓ in cold pain
Enander [75]	10 M occupationally cold exposed; 10 office workers	Daily work exposure to cold air	5–10°C air	Two cold water hand immersion tests (immersion of rubber-gloved hands to the wrists in 10°C water for 2 min), one in 10°C and one in 20°C ambient air, recovery from hand immersion for 30 min in respective ambient air temp	Those not cold exposed rated ↑ cold sensation and frequency of pain ratings from cold water immersion, especially in ambient 10°C