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Updated: Jun 4, 2025
Effects of Surgical Masks on Cardiopulmonary Function in Healthy Subjects
Published on: February 12, 2021
Physiological Responses to Facemask Use during a Graded Treadmill Test in Healthy Male Adolescents and Young
Nasibeh Kazemi1, Bryanne N Bellovary2, Ali Shaker1
1Department of Sport Physiology, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran.
Background:
we aimed to investigate the physiological impact of facemasks use during a graded treadmill exercise test in male adolescents and young adults.
Materials And Methods:
Twenty-one males aged 15 to 28 volunteered. Participants completed four sessions with a 72-hour gap between each session. They completed four visits: 1 rest and 3 graded treadmill exercise test sessions no mask, surgical mask, and FFP2/N95 mask. Pre- and post-graded treadmill exercise test, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation were measured. Repeated measures analysis of variance determined statistical differences (p<0.05).
Results:
There were no differences in exercise performance (e.g., time to termination, estimated VO2max) nor heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure between conditions. FFP2/N95 mask resulted in lower blood oxygen saturation compared to no mask and surgical mask, and the surgical mask was lower than no mask at exhaustion.
Conclusion:
Participants could safely complete the graded treadmill exercise test without detriment to exercise performance even though blood oxygen saturation decreased with facemask use.
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