Influence of severe cold thermal environment on core and skin temperatures: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Exposure to severe cold thermal environment (SCE) is a significant risk factor in the frozen food industry, influencing health and safety of the employees. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to present the level of knowledge on the influence of SCE on core and skin temperatures. METHODS: The review has been conducted using appropriated keywords and expressions, by searching 21 electronic databases and references of the included articles. Only research articles with healthy subjects and considering exposure to SCE conditions (- 5°C or lower) were considered. RESULTS: Thirteen articles were included in the systematic review which met the research objective and were in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the included studies measured core or skin temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: The main findings of this review indicate that working in SCE is and will remain an added risk factor. Further studies should be conducted in laboratory and industrial severe cold thermal environments on acclimatized and non-acclimatized subjects, in order to evaluate core and skin temperature variations and its recovery periods.