ALTITUDE AND COLD: A STUDY OF THE COLD EXPOSURE AND THERMOREGULATORY RESPONSES OF HIGH ALTITUDE QUECHUA INDIANS.
Abstract
The report is in two parts. The first deals with a study of the actual cold exposure encountered by the native population in the district of Nunoa in Peru, at altitudes from 13,400 to 15,800 feet. The paper reports on observations, questionnaires and direct measurements of skin and rectal temperature during the night. Men, women, and children are included in the survey. It was found that all members have considerable cold exposure to their extremities but only the children show evidence of total body chilling during a 'normal' day. The second report deals with the thermal and metabolic responses of 28 native males and 15 U. S. males to a series of standardized two-hour cold exposures. The total Indian group had two exposures to 10 C and one at 15.5 C. The White group had two at 10 C but only four were exposed at 14.5 C. The responses reconfirmed that the Indians maintain extremely high peripheral skin temperatures compared to Whites when exposed to cold. These high peripheral temperatures produced a higher heat loss in the Indians, but the Indians still maintained a higher rectal temperature than Whites because of a higher heat production per unit surface area during the first hour.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0488583
Entities
People
- Paul T. Baker
Organizations
- Pennsylvania State University