Hand immersion in cold water at 5°C in sub-arctic Algonkian Indian males from two villages: A European admixture effect?

Data from adult men in two Algonkian Indian villages in the Eastern Subartic (Northern Ontario) are presented for anthropometric measurements and for thermal response to a cold-induced vasodilation test involving hand immersion in 5°C water. Historical evidence and results from studies of genetic admixture suggest that the population of the villages differ significantly in the frequency of 'Caucasian' genes. It is argued that differences in thermal response to cold-water exposure are related to the different amounts of genetic admixture which each village has experienced, rather than to the effects of small sample size, climatic distributions of thermal responses, or other variables.