Effect of Wearing Face Masks During Exercise on Pulmonary Function in Healthy Non-Athlete Young Men During the Covid-19 Epidemic: Cloth Masks vs. Medical Masks

Abstract

Background and Objectives One of the safety methods to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is to wear face masks. The aim of the current research was to compare the effect of wearing cloth vs. medical masks during exercise on lung function in healthy non-athlete young men during the Covid-19 epidemic. Subjects and Methods In this quasi-experimental research, 40 healthy men (mean age: 29.40 years, mean height: 175.30 cm, mean weight: 73.37 kg, and mean body mass index: 23.56 kg/m2) were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly allocated into 4 groups: 1- combined exercises + medical mask, 2-combined exercises + cloth mask, 3- combined exercises, and 4- control. Pulmonary function was measured using a spirometer. The training intervention included three sessions of combined training (aerobic-resistance) continued for eight weeks. Statistical analysis involved paired sample t-tests, analysis of covariance, and Benferroni's post hoc test. Results A significant increase in tidal volume (VT), vital capacity (VC), total lung capacity (TLC), and peak expiratory flow (PEF) was observed after exercise training (P <0.01). However, using medical or cloth masks led to a significant decrease in VT, VC, TLC and PEF indices compared to the activity group not wearing masks (P <0.01). Other results also showed that there is no significant difference between cloth and medical masks in terms of the pulmonary indices of the healthy young men studied (P>0.05). Conclusion The results of this research show that wearing masks during exercise reduces lung function by increasing airway resistance.