SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
The Effect of Cold Exposure on Cognitive Performance in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of ambient temperature on mental and neurological conditions in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Environment international · 2024Pooled it
- Cold stress impacts cognitive performance in healthy volunteers: results from a randomized, controlled, cross-over study.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Effect of cold environments on technical performance and perceived workload and stress during advanced medical procedures: a randomized controlled simulation study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Trial
- Lack of guidelines for cold exposure among vulnerable outdoor workers.International journal of circumpolar health · 2026Review
- Prefrontal cortex hemodynamics and marksmanship accuracy following cold stress exposure.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Thermal comfort, health, and performance effects among outdoor workers in northern Sweden.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Housing quality and school outcomes in England: a nationally representative linked cohort study.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2026Article
- Hemodynamic responses of the prefrontal cortex following cold water immersion during an eyes-closed balance assessment.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Article
- The epidemiology of canyoning rescue operations in Italy: a retrospective 15-year database study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Cognitive risk during underwater exposure: from environmental stressors to assessment and context-aware monitoring.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Impact of ambient temperature on postoperative cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients surgery: A seasonal comparison in tropical regions.World journal of psychiatry · 2025Article
- Long-term exposure to extreme heat and cold and cognitive decline in older adults: Results from the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort.Environmental research · 2025Article
- CPR-induced consciousness in hypothermic cardiac arrest: Where is the limit of tolerance of the human brain? A case report.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Inhibition of Ferroptosis Attenuates Neuron Damage and Improves Cognitive Impairment in Mice Surviving Severe Hypothermia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- The untapped potential of cold water therapy as part of a lifestyle intervention for promoting healthy aging.GeroScience · 2025Review
- Detection of Cognitive Performance Deterioration Due to Cold-Air Exposure in Females Using Wearable Electrodermal Activity and Electrocardiogram.Biosensors · 2025Article
- Temperature influences mood: evidence from 11 years of Baidu index data in Chinese provincial capitals.Frontiers in public health · 2025Observational
- Construction and validation of a nomogram model for cognitive impairment in heart failure patients.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Exploring the role of nutritional strategies to influence physiological and cognitive mechanisms in cold weather operations in military personnel.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Several aspects of cognition can be affected after cold exposure, but contradictory results have been reported regarding affected cognitive domains. The aim of the current systematic review was to evaluate the effects of specific cold exposure on cognitive performance in healthy subjects. A systematic search was performed using MEDLINE (through PubMed), EMBASE (Scopus) and PsycINFO databases according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Inclusion criteria were healthy subjects exposed to a cold environment (either simulated or not) and cognitive performance related to cold exposure with an experimental design. The literature search identified 18 studies, eight studies investigated the effect of cold air exposure and ten the effect of cold water immersion on cognitive performance of healthy subjects. There were several differences among the studies (environmental temperature reached, time of exposure, timing, and type of cognitive test administration). Cold exposure induced in most of the experimental settings (15 of 18) an impairment of CP even before accidental hypothermia was established. The most investigated and affected cognitive domains were attention and processing speed, executive function, and memory. Gender differences and effects of repeated exposure and possible acclimation on cognitive performance need further studies to be confirmed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.