Short-term Cardiovascular Benefits of Wearing Particulate-filtering Respirators

Short-term Cardiovascular Benefits of Wearing Particulate-filtering Respirators: a Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial Among Healthy Young Adults

An intervention study to assess the short-term cardiovascular effects of reducing personal air pollution exposure by wearing particulate filtering respirators.

A group of healthy adult college students fulfilling the recruitment criteria were randomly divided into two sub-groups. One sub-group weared the particulate filtering respirators for 2 continuous days during which the respirator was required to wear as much as possible both indoor and outdoor. The other group acted as normal at the same time. The measurements on health effects including heart rate varibility, blood pressure, circulating biomarkers as well as the ambient air pollution were performed in both groups during the intervention period. After a 3-week rest period,the two groups interchanged their roles of wearing the respirator or not. The same measurements of both health effects indicators and ambient air pollution were repeated.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Equal to or older than 18 years old,
• No history of smoking and alcohol addiction.
• No chronic diseases,such as hypertension,diabetes,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or other respiratory/cardiovascular diseases reported by volunteers.
• No respiratory or allergic diseases, like asthma, rhinitis,or other allergic diseases.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current smokers
• Chronic drug use due on cardiovascular or respiratory diseases