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Flynn, Morgan Raven

University of British Columbia

Introduction: Despite consistent evidence that face masks (FM) increase dyspnea (i.e., breathlessness), very few studies have examined whether dyspnea and other physiological responses to FMs during exercise differ on the basis of sex. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to evaluate sex differences in the multidimensional components of dyspnea, exercise performance and other physiological responses when wearing a FM during a maximal incremental exercise in healthy young males and females. Methods: In a randomized cross-over design, thirty-two healthy individuals (n=16 females, 23 ± 3 years) completed two testing sessions separated by ≥48 h. Each visit included a maximal incremental cycling test where visits 1 & 2 were randomized to either FM or control condition. Dyspnea intensity and unpleasantness were assessed using the modified 0-10 category-ratio (CR) Borg scale and the Multidimensional Dyspnea Profile was administered immediately following exercise. Diaphragmatic electromyography (EMGdi), esophageal pressure swings (Peso), and transdiaphragmatic pressure swings (Pdi) were measured via a specialized catheter to estimate neural respiratory drive and respiratory muscle pressures, respectively. Heat perception was measured using the Frank Comfort scale and a skin probe was used to measure facial temperature. Results: There were no differences in exercise duration between FM and control in males (20.3±4.3 vs. 20.9±4.2 min, p=0.13) whereas there was a significant reduction in females (13.2±3.5 vs. 13.8±3.3 min, p=0.006). At peak exercise, males exhibited significantly higher ratings of dyspnea unpleasantness and Peso in the FM condition with an increase of 2.1 Borg 0-10 units (95% CI [0.6, 3.6], p=0.01) and 4.3 cmH₂O (95% CI [0.6, 8.1], p=0.001), respectively. Both sexes experienced significantly higher facial temperatures at specified submaximal work rates (all p<0.05). Adding a FM led to higher ratings of heat perception in females, and these ratings exhibited a greater increase as the work rate intensified at 75W (Estimate=1.88, 95% CI [0.65, 3.10], t(357)=3.01, p=0.003) and at 100W (Estimate=1.83, 95% CI [0.60, 3.06], t(357)=2.93, p=0.004). Conclusions: This study highlights that FMs can have differing effects on males and females during exercise, which may have implications when individuals partake in physical activity during public health FM mandates.

Text

2023-08-31

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85747

Rehabilitation Sciences

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/