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Homeostatic Responses to Prolonged Cold Exposure: Human Cold Acclimatization

Andrew J. Young

10.1002/cphy.cp040119

Source: Supplement 14: Handbook of Physiology, Environmental Physiology

Originally published: 1996

Published online: January 2011

Full Article on Wiley Online Library



Abstract

The sections in this article are:

1 Naturally Occurring Cold Acclimatization
1.1 Circumpolar Residents
1.2 Primitive People Living in Temperate‐Weather Regions
1.3 Modern People Repeatedly lmmersed in Cold Water
2 Experimentally Induced Cold Acclimation
2.1 Acclimation Induced by Repeated Cold‐Air Exposure
2.2 Acclimation Induced by Repeated Cold‐Water Immersion
3 Determinants of the Acclimatization Pattern
4 Summary
Figure 1. Figure 1.

Physiological responses during overnight cold exposure measured in nine nomadic Norwegian Lapps and five European control subjects. The subjects began the night covered in blankets and lying on a wire mesh bed in a chamber with an air temperature of 0°C; after 2 h, the blankets were removed, leaving the subjects covered only in a thin windproof cover. Drawn from data of Andersen et al. 3.
Figure 2. Figure 2.

Whole‐body thermal conductivity of Inuit and non‐Inuit subjects plotted as a function of subcutaneous fat thickness. Conductivity was measured during the final 30 min of a 1 h immersion in 33°C water; subjects were not shivering and were assumed to be maximally vasoconstricted, since digital blood flow was virtually zero during the conductivity measurements. Redrawn from data of Rennie et al. 58.
Figure 3. Figure 3.

Steady‐state blood flow (mean ± SE) to the hand of Inuit and non‐Inuit control subjects during immersion of the hand in water of various temperatures. Redrawn from data of Brown and Page 9.
Figure 4. Figure 4.

Responses of control subjects (open circles) and Central Australian Aborigines (closed circles) while sleeping naked at 5°C. Redrawn from Hammel et al. 24.
Figure 5. Figure 5.

Blood‐pressure responses of control subjects, Gaspé fishermen, and Inuits upon immersing one OOhand in cold water. Redrawn from Leblanc 46.
Figure 6. Figure 6.

Incidence of shivering in three groups of Koreans immersed in water at different temperatures. The number of subjects tested is shown parenthetically for each group, and the value indicated by the arrow depicts the water temperature at which 50% of the subjects in each group could not tolerate 3 h of immersion without shivering. Redrawn from Hong 30.
Figure 7. Figure 7.

Regression lines depicting the relationship between maximum tissue insulation and subcutaneous fat thickness measurements made in nondiving Korean men and women and Ama divers. Redrawn from Hong 31.
Figure 8. Figure 8.

Forearm blood flow (upper panel) and forearm skin heat loss (lower panel) of six Ama diving women and six nondiving women from the same Korean community. Redrawn from the data of Hong et al. 32.
Figure 9. Figure 9.

Increment in resting metabolic rate exhibited by cold‐acclimated and nonacclimated subjects during exposure to 20°C, expressed as a percent of basal metabolic rate (BMR) measured in thermoneutral condition. Drawn from data reported by Scholander et al. 60.
Figure 10. Figure 10.

Top panel: Effect of cold acclimation by repeated cold‐air exposure on metabolic rate assessed by open‐circuit spirometry and shivering of the thigh and upper arm assessed by EMG activity during the second hour of exposure to 12°C air; redrawn from Davis 14. Bottom panel: Data from the top panel redrawn to depict the metabolic rate as a function of the corresponding EMG activity for that measurement day.
Figure 11. Figure 11.

Top panel: Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on rectal temperature before (0 min) and during 90‐min resting exposures to cold air. Bottom panel: Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on the change in rectal temperature, relative to initial values, during cold‐air exposure. Values are means ± SE of measurements in 7 men; *Significant (p < 0.01) difference between pre‐ and postacclimation. From Young et al. 68.
Figure 12. Figure 12.

Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on mean weighted skin temperature before and during a 90‐min resting cold‐air exposure. Values are means ± SE of measurements in 7 men; *Significant (p < 0.01) difference between pre‐ and postacclimation. From Young et al. 68.
Figure 13. Figure 13.

Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on temperature gradient between core (rectal temperature) and skin (mean weighted skin temperature) before and during a 90‐min exposure to cold air. Values are means ± SE in 7 men. *Significant (p < 0.01) difference pre‐ versus postacclimation. From Young et al. 68.
Figure 14. Figure 14.

Flowchart illustrating a theoretical scheme to explain the development of different patterns of cold acclimatization/acclimation that are observed in humans.


Figure 1.

Physiological responses during overnight cold exposure measured in nine nomadic Norwegian Lapps and five European control subjects. The subjects began the night covered in blankets and lying on a wire mesh bed in a chamber with an air temperature of 0°C; after 2 h, the blankets were removed, leaving the subjects covered only in a thin windproof cover. Drawn from data of Andersen et al. 3.



Figure 2.

Whole‐body thermal conductivity of Inuit and non‐Inuit subjects plotted as a function of subcutaneous fat thickness. Conductivity was measured during the final 30 min of a 1 h immersion in 33°C water; subjects were not shivering and were assumed to be maximally vasoconstricted, since digital blood flow was virtually zero during the conductivity measurements. Redrawn from data of Rennie et al. 58.



Figure 3.

Steady‐state blood flow (mean ± SE) to the hand of Inuit and non‐Inuit control subjects during immersion of the hand in water of various temperatures. Redrawn from data of Brown and Page 9.



Figure 4.

Responses of control subjects (open circles) and Central Australian Aborigines (closed circles) while sleeping naked at 5°C. Redrawn from Hammel et al. 24.



Figure 5.

Blood‐pressure responses of control subjects, Gaspé fishermen, and Inuits upon immersing one OOhand in cold water. Redrawn from Leblanc 46.



Figure 6.

Incidence of shivering in three groups of Koreans immersed in water at different temperatures. The number of subjects tested is shown parenthetically for each group, and the value indicated by the arrow depicts the water temperature at which 50% of the subjects in each group could not tolerate 3 h of immersion without shivering. Redrawn from Hong 30.



Figure 7.

Regression lines depicting the relationship between maximum tissue insulation and subcutaneous fat thickness measurements made in nondiving Korean men and women and Ama divers. Redrawn from Hong 31.



Figure 8.

Forearm blood flow (upper panel) and forearm skin heat loss (lower panel) of six Ama diving women and six nondiving women from the same Korean community. Redrawn from the data of Hong et al. 32.



Figure 9.

Increment in resting metabolic rate exhibited by cold‐acclimated and nonacclimated subjects during exposure to 20°C, expressed as a percent of basal metabolic rate (BMR) measured in thermoneutral condition. Drawn from data reported by Scholander et al. 60.



Figure 10.

Top panel: Effect of cold acclimation by repeated cold‐air exposure on metabolic rate assessed by open‐circuit spirometry and shivering of the thigh and upper arm assessed by EMG activity during the second hour of exposure to 12°C air; redrawn from Davis 14. Bottom panel: Data from the top panel redrawn to depict the metabolic rate as a function of the corresponding EMG activity for that measurement day.



Figure 11.

Top panel: Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on rectal temperature before (0 min) and during 90‐min resting exposures to cold air. Bottom panel: Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on the change in rectal temperature, relative to initial values, during cold‐air exposure. Values are means ± SE of measurements in 7 men; *Significant (p < 0.01) difference between pre‐ and postacclimation. From Young et al. 68.



Figure 12.

Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on mean weighted skin temperature before and during a 90‐min resting cold‐air exposure. Values are means ± SE of measurements in 7 men; *Significant (p < 0.01) difference between pre‐ and postacclimation. From Young et al. 68.



Figure 13.

Effect of acclimation by repeated cold‐water immersion on temperature gradient between core (rectal temperature) and skin (mean weighted skin temperature) before and during a 90‐min exposure to cold air. Values are means ± SE in 7 men. *Significant (p < 0.01) difference pre‐ versus postacclimation. From Young et al. 68.



Figure 14.

Flowchart illustrating a theoretical scheme to explain the development of different patterns of cold acclimatization/acclimation that are observed in humans.

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Article Title: Homeostatic Responses to Prolonged Cold Exposure: Human Cold Acclimatization
 

How to Cite

Andrew J. Young. Homeostatic Responses to Prolonged Cold Exposure: Human Cold Acclimatization. Compr Physiol 2011, Supplement 14: Handbook of Physiology, Environmental Physiology: 419-438. First published in print 1996. doi: 10.1002/cphy.cp040119