[Workers' discomfort and output when exposed to extreme cold in everyday working conditions]

Examining workers' painful symptoms and maximum aerobic capacity and the influence of such factors on their perception of cold when exposed to extreme cold in lyophilisation rooms.

Lyophilisation room workers were subjected to an ergometric test and also completed the Spanish version of the Health-check questionnaire for subjects exposed to cold (Centre for Arctic Medicine, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Finland)and the Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms(Institute of Occupational Health, Department of Physiology, Helsinki, Finland).

VO2max was not related to a perception of cold-related discomfort in the workplace. Work performance when exposed to extreme cold was not affected by VO2maxlevel. Concerning the prevalence of signs and symptoms, the most frequently reported symptom was increased mucus excretion.

VO2max did not affect workers' perception of cold or their work output when exposed to extremely cold temperatures.