Background and Study Aim. Common use of surgical face masks is recommended for social and individual health due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is no systematic report for responses of organism to wearing a surgical face mask during different exercises. In this context the purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of wearing a surgical face mask during a one-hour brisk walking. Material and Methods. A total of thirty male (n=16) and female (n=14) volunteers (mean age and BMI of 32±1.07 years and 25.1±0.68 kg/m2, respectively) completed the protocol. This was a multiple cross-over trial for healthy volunteers. All participants took a one-hour brisk walking with and without a surgical face mask. Specific physiological measurements (HR - heart rate; BP - blood pressure, SaO2 - arterial oxygen content) were compared before and immediately after two brisk walking. Each subject served their own control. Results. The evaluation found that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean HR and blood pressure values during the brisk walking with and without a surgical face mask, while there was a statistically significant difference in the SaO2 values on behalf of no-mask-walking (p<0.05). Conclusions. The use of surgical face masks in healthy volunteers causes a decrease in SaO2 during brisk walking. However, it does not affect the mean pulse rate and blood pressure. Although there was a statistically significant decrease in the SaO2 parameter during mask-walking, it is possible to state that brisk walking with a surgical face mask does not have a physiologically negative impact, because this decrease is in ranges that are accepted to be normal. 

中文翻译：

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在 COVID-19 大流行中行走时佩戴外科口罩的生理影响

背景和研究目的。由于 COVID-19 大流行，为了社会和个人健康，建议普遍使用外科口罩。然而，没有关于有机体在不同运动中对佩戴外科口罩的反应的系统报告。在这种情况下，本研究的目的是检查在一小时快走期间佩戴外科口罩的影响。材料和方法。共有 30 名男性 (n=16) 和女性 (n=14) 志愿者（平均年龄和 BMI 分别为 32±1.07 岁和 25.1±0.68 kg/m2）完成了该方案。这是针对健康志愿者的多重交叉试验。所有参与者在佩戴和不佩戴外科口罩的情况下都进行了一小时的快走。特定的生理测量（HR - 心率；BP - 血压，SaO2 - 动脉氧含量）在两次快走之前和之后进行比较。每个受试者都有自己的控制权。结果。评估发现，快走过程中，有无佩戴外科口罩的平均 HR 和血压值差异无统计学意义，而代表未佩戴口罩的 SaO2 值差异有统计学意义。面具行走（p<0.05）。结论 在健康志愿者中使用外科口罩会导致快走时 SaO2 降低。但是，它不影响平均脉搏率和血压。尽管在面罩行走期间 SaO2 参数在统计学上有显着降低，但可以说戴着外科面罩快步走不会产生生理上的负面影响，