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 |