Received: 2025/03/3 | Accepted: 2025/05/13 | Published: 2025/04/21
URL: http://ijwph.ir/article-1-1564-en.html
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2- M Kandiah Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. ,
3- Centre for Advance Lung diseases and Lung transplant, Kovai Medical Center and Hospitals, India.
4- Department of Physiotherapy, PPG College of Physiotherapy, Affiliated to The Tamilnadu Dr MGR Medical University, India
Aims: The widespread adoption of prolonged use of medical facial masks became particularly prevalent to prevent infectious respiratory diseases. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of information regarding the physiological effect of various types of facial masks on the cardiorespiratory functions of older individuals during physical exercise. The current study aims to examine the physiological effects of different face masks on older adults cardiopulmonary efficiency during exercise.
Materials and methods: 26 healthy older adults were assessed under four conditions in the current study: no mask, disposable 3-ply surgical mask, disposable N95 mask, and cloth mask (CM) in random order. The participants' blood pressure, SPO2 level, heart rate, respiratory rate, distance traversed, and pulmonary function were measured at baseline and following a 6-minute walk test for each condition, respectively.
Findings: There were no statistically significant changes in the outcome variables as a result of the participants' use of different masks in this study. With the N95 mask, however, reductions in SPO2 levels were seen upon completion of the 6-minute walk test.
Conclusion: Wearing masks during moderate-intensity physical activity has no significant impact on blood pressure, heart rate, or pulmonary function. However, older individuals with heart or lung conditions should undergo a comprehensive assessment.