Physiological changes associated to the use of N95 mask

The identification of headaches or perception of increased respiratory efforts during the use of N95 masks in quantitative studies and according to the experience of the user population has generated doubts as to whether there are alterations in the state of health derived from their use. This work describes a recording protocol and the algorithms applied to evaluate possible alterations in oxygen saturation and heart rate variability in seven subjects between 23 and 52 years old under different conditions of physical exertion. When performing the One-way ANOVA analysis for each subject and globally, variations were identified in the three variables studied along the three states considered: rest, exercise, and recovery. However, these variations were not significant either with or without the mask.