Effects of wearing facemasks on the sensation of exertional dyspnea and exercise capacity in healthy subjects.
PLoS One
; 16(9): e0258104, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1443857
ABSTRACT
Due to the currently ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is strongly recommended to wear facemasks to minimize transmission risk. Wearing a facemask may have the potential to increase dyspnea and worsen cardiopulmonary parameters during exercise; however, research-based evidence is lacking. We investigated the hypothesis that wearing facemasks affects the sensation of dyspnea, pulse rate, and percutaneous arterial oxygen saturation during exercise. Healthy adults (15 men, 9 women) underwent a progressive treadmill test under 3 conditions in randomized order wearing a surgical facemask, cloth facemask, or no facemask. Experiment was carried out once daily under each condition, for a total of 3 days. Each subject first sat on a chair for 30 minutes, then walked on a treadmill according to a Bruce protocol that was modified by us. The experiment was discontinued when the subject's pulse rate exceeded 174 beats/min. After discontinuation, the subject immediately sat on a chair and was allowed to rest for 10 minutes. Subjects were required to rate their levels of dyspnea perception on a numerical scale. Pulse rate and percutaneous arterial oxygen saturation were continuously monitored with a pulse oximeter. These parameters were recorded in each trial every 3 minutes after the start of the exercise; the point of discontinuation; and 5 and 10 minutes after discontinuation. The following findings were obtained. Wearing a facemask does not worsen dyspnea during light to moderate exercise but worsens dyspnea during vigorous exercise. Wearing a cloth facemask increases dyspnea more than wearing a surgical facemask during exercise and increases pulse rate during vigorous exercise, but it does not increase pulse rate during less vigorous exercise. Wearing a surgical facemask does not increase pulse rate at any load level. Lastly, wearing a facemask does not affect percutaneous arterial oxygen saturation during exercise at any load level regardless of facemask type.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Exercise Tolerance
/
Dyspnea
/
COVID-19
/
Heart Rate
/
Masks
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
Science
/
Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Journal.pone.0258104
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS