Effects of living and working in a hot environment on cognitive function in a quiet and temperature-controlled room: An oil and gas industry study
Journal article
Girard, O., Gaoua, Nadia, Grantham, Justin, Knez, Wade, Walsh, Andrew and Racinais, S. (2021). Effects of living and working in a hot environment on cognitive function in a quiet and temperature-controlled room: An oil and gas industry study. Temperature. 8 (4), pp. 372-380. https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2021.1959289
Authors | Girard, O., Gaoua, Nadia, Grantham, Justin, Knez, Wade, Walsh, Andrew and Racinais, S. |
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Abstract | We investigate the effects of seasonal heat stress on cognitive function in outdoor workers. Thirty-nine workers from an oil and gas industry in the Middle-East volunteered for cognitive testing before (5.30 to 7.00 am) and after (3.30 to 5.00 pm) their daily work-shift in hot (August – average daily temperature: ~41°C) and temperate (January – average daily temperature: ~22°C) seasons. While physical activity was reduced in hot compared to temperate season (average normalized acceleration: 96 ± 33 vs. 112 ± 31 × 10−3 g; −12.5 ± 4.7%; P = 0.010), the average core temperature during the work-shift was higher in the hot season (37.4 ± 0.2 vs. 37.2 ± 0.2°C; P = 0.002). Peak core temperature was 38.0 ± 0.1°C and 37.8 ± 0.1°C in hot and temperate seasons, respectively. Cognitive performance did not differ between seasons for tests of recognition memory (P = 0.169), working memory (P = 0.797) and executive function (P = 0.145), independent of testing time. Whereas there was no significant main effect of testing time for tests of recognition memory (P = 0.503) and working memory (P = 0.849), the number of problems solved on the first choice for the executive function test was lower in the afternoon than the morning (−9.2 ± 5.3%; P = 0.039). There was no season × testing time interaction for any cognitive tests (P ≥ 0.145). In the absence of hyperthermia, living and working in a hot environment does not alter cognitive function in oil and gas industry workers tested in a quiet and temperature-controlled room, with reduced clothing encumbrance (relative to work). Conclusions should not be extrapolated to more stressful situations (i.e., thermal stressor present, pronounced dehydration, noise). |
Keywords | Physiology (medical); Physiology |
Year | 2021 |
Journal | Temperature |
Journal citation | 8 (4), pp. 372-380 |
Publisher | Informa UK Limited |
ISSN | 2332-8940 |
2332-8959 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2021.1959289 |
Funder/Client | There is no source of funding to declare |
Publication dates | |
02 Oct 2021 | |
Online | 14 Sep 2021 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 19 Jul 2021 |
Deposited | 30 Sep 2021 |
Accepted author manuscript | License File Access Level Open |
Additional information | This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Temperature on 14/07/2021, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/23328940.2021.1959289 |
Page range | 1-9 |
https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/8xyy5
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