Thermal perception thresholds among workers in a cold climate.
PURPOSE
To investigate whether exposure to cold could influence the thermal perception thresholds in a working population.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study was comprised of 251 males and females and was carried out at two mines in the northern part of Norway and Sweden. The testing included a baseline questionnaire, a clinical examination and measurements of thermal perception thresholds, on both hands, the index (Digit 2) and little (Digit 5) fingers, for heat and cold.


RESULTS
The thermal perception thresholds were affected by age, gender and test site. The thresholds were impaired by experiences of frostbite in the fingers and the use of medication that potentially could affect neurosensory functions. No differences were found between the calculated normative values for these workers and those in other comparative investigations conducted in warmer climates.


CONCLUSIONS
The study provided no support for the hypothesis that living and working in cold climate will lead to impaired thermal perception thresholds. Exposure to cold that had caused localized damage in the form of frostbite was shown to lead to impaired thermal perception.
['Burström|Lage|L|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6534-2026', 'Björ|Bodil|B|', 'Nilsson|Tohr|T|', 'Pettersson|Hans|H|', 'Rödin|Ingemar|I|', 'Wahlström|Jens|J|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000367:Age Factors D001110:Arctic Regions D003081:Cold Climate D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D003920:Diabetes Mellitus D005260:Female D005385:Fingers D006225:Hand D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009664:Norway D012111:Residence Characteristics D012684:Sensory Thresholds D012737:Sex Factors D012907:Smoking D013548:Sweden D014732:Vibration D055815:Young Adult
Neurosensory function Normative values Cold temperature Mine work Sensory threshold