Physical working performance in cold thermal environment: A short review

Exposure to cold thermal environment is a significant risk factor in industrial activities, influencing the human physical performance. The aim of this work is to contribute with a short review on physical working performance of humans exposed to cold thermal environment, by classifying different studies conducted in that area. Using appropriated keywords and expressions, a short review of English articles has been done, by searching electronic databases. Only articles related to worker’s physical performance while exposed to cold thermal environment were included. Ten experimental articles were included. The number of participants varied from 6 to 30 workers. The findings of this short review indicate that moderate and severe cold environment in general reduces physical performances. However the amount, level and quality should be enlarged, considering different tasks, both genders and exposure to different cold conditions.