Evaluation of the Impact of Wearing a Filtering Half Mask on the Cognitive Indicators of Users

Abstract:

Purpose. Study of the influence of users' cognitive indicators on decision-making time when using filtering half masks. Method. 10 men and 5 women who used RPA-DE filtering half masks manufactured by Research and Production Enterprise STANDART took part in the study. During the study, the time and speed of the reaction of half masks users to a stimulus were determined, which allows us to assess the speed of decision-making when performing professional activities in a polluted working environment. The tasks were performed in the absence of physical exertion: once in a half mask, another time without a half mask (control value). The tasks measured the ability to suppress obstacles (Stroop Color Word test), visual search speed, processing speed and mental flexibility, reaction speed (Trailmaking Halstead–Reitan test), level of attention and logical thinking (Raven's Test), anxiety level (IDRlabs resource .com). Three main tasks were performed by the research participant for 40 minutes, after which a test was performed to determine the level of anxiety. Results. The ability to suppress obstacles, reaction speed, and level of logical thinking did not differ significantly between the control value and when wearing a half mask. As for women, the speed of reaction was higher than for men, but in groups of both sexes (in each of the groups) there were no significant differences between tests with and without a half mask. When performing any task to determine the speed of reaction and logic of thinking while wearing a half mask, the results of men and women and when comparing them with each other did not have significant differences. At the same time, the level of anxiety during tasks was 8% higher with the use of half mask s than without it. Scientific novelty. It has been established that wearing a filtering half mask increases the level of stress and anxiety of users when performing mental tasks due to an increase in the load on the cardiovascular system. Practical value. The results show that short-term wearing of a half mask in the lack of other influences does not impair cognitive performance, which indicates the absence of additional risks when using personal protective equipment for users when performing industrial tasks .

• Periodical: Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 162)
• Pages: 109-119
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-1jvLXW
• Online since: April 2025
• Authors: Serhii Cheberiachko, Dmytro Radchuk*, Yuriy Cheberiachko, Oleg Deryugin, Mykola Naumov
• Keywords: Cognitive Thinking, Filtering Half Mask, Mental Flexibility, Processing Speed, Reaction Speed, Visual Search Speed

References

[1] Feng, S., Shen, C., Xia, N., Song, W., Fan, M. & Cowling, B.J. (2020). Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 8(5), 434-436.

DOI: 10.1016/s2213-2600(20)30134-x

[2] Leung, R., Cook, M.M., Capra, M.F. & Johnstone, K.R. (2022). The contribution of respiratory and hearing protection use to psychological distress in the workplace: a scoping review International. Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.

DOI: 10.1007/s00420-022-01863-7

[3] Lim, E.C.H., Seet, R.C.S., Lee, K.H., Wilder-Smith, E.P.V., Chuah, B.Y.S. & Ong, B.K.C (2006). Headaches and the N95 face-mask amongst healthcare providers. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 113(3), 199-202. https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0404.2005.00560.x.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2005.00560.x

[4] Asadi, S., Cappa, C.D., Barreda, S., Wexler, A.S., Bouvier, N.M. & Ristenpart, W.D. (2020). Efficacy of masks and face coverings in controlling outward aerosol particle emission from expiratory activities. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 15665.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72798-7

[5] Engeroff, T., Groneberg, D.A. & Niederer, D. (2021). The impact of ubiquitous face masks and filtering face piece application during rest, work and exercise on gas exchange, pulmonary function and physical performance: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine - Open, 7, 92.

DOI: 10.1186/s40798-021-00388-6

[6] Cheberiachko S., Yavorska O., Deriuhin O. & Yavorskyi A. Evaluation of the probability of miners' protection while using filtering respirators. E3S Web of Conferences 201, 01021 (2020). Ukrainian School of Mining Engineering 2020. Pp. 1-11.

DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202020101021

[7] Cheberyachko, S., Cheberyachko, Y., Naumov, M. & Deryugin, O. (2021). Development of an algorithm for effective design of respirator half-masks and encapsulated particle filters. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022, 2(28), 1145-1159.

DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2020.1869429

[8] Bazaluk, O., Ennan, A., Cheberiachko, S., Deryugin, O., Cheberiachko, Y., Saik, P., Lozynskyi, V. & Knysh, I. (2021). Research on Regularities of Cyclic Air Motion through a Respirator Filter. Applied Sciences, 11, 3157.

DOI: 10.3390/app11073157

[9] Bazaluk O., Cheberyachko S., Cheberyachko Y., Deryugin O., Lozynskyi V., Knysh I., Saik P. & Naumov M. Development of a dust respirator by improving the half mask frame design. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021, 18, 5482.

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18105482

[10] Caretti, D.M. (1999). Cognitive performance and mood during respirator wear and exercise. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 60(2), 213-218.

DOI: 10.1080/00028899908984438

[11] Schlegtendal, A., Eitner, L., Falkenstein, M., Hoffmann, A., Lücke, T., Sinningen, K. & Brinkmann, F. (2022). To Mask or Not to Mask-Evaluation of Cognitive Performance in Children Wearing Face Masks during School Lessons (MasKids). Children, 9, 95.

DOI: 10.3390/children9010095

[12] Lubrano R., Bloise S., Testa A., Marcellino A., Dilillo A., Mallardo S., Isoldi S., Martucci V., Sanseviero M., Del Giudice E., Malvaso C., Iorfida D. & Ventriglia F. (2021). Assessment of Respiratory Function in Infants and Young Children Wearing Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open, 4(3), e210414. https://doi.org/10.1001/ jamanetworkopen.2021.0414.

DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0414

[13] Goh D.Y.T; Mun M.W.; Lee W.L.J.; Teoh O.H. & Rajgor D.D. (2019). A randomised clinical trial to evaluate the safety, fit, comfort of a novel N95 mask in children. Scientific Reports, 9(1):18952.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55451-w

[14] Grange, J.A. & Culling, J.F. (2016). The benefit of head orientation to speech intelligibility in noise. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 139, 703-712.

DOI: 10.1121/1.4941655

[15] Tornero-Aguilera, J.F. & Clemente-Suáreza, V.J. (2021). Cognitive and psychophysiological impact of surgical mask use during university lessons. Physiology & Behavior, 234, 113342.

DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113342

[16] Online test "Stroop Color Word". Retrieved from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/.

[17] Online test "Trailmaking Halstead-Reitan". Retrieved from: https://www.scirp.org/journal/ paperinformation.aspx?paperid=81392.

[18] Sefcek, J.A., Miller, G.F. & Figueredo, A.J. (2016). Development and Validation of an 18-Item Medium Form of the Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices. SAGE Open.

DOI: 10.1177/2158244016651915

[19] Online resource "IDRlabs.com". Retrieved from: https://www.idrlabs.com/.

[20] Bezdicek O., Lukavsky J., Stepankova H., Nikolai T., Axelrod B. N., Michalec J., et al. (2015). The Prague Stroop Test: normative standards in older Czech adults and discriminative validity for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. J. Clin. Exp. Neuropsychol. 37, 794–807.

DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2015.1057106

[21] Malek, A., Hekmati, I., Amiri, S., Pirzadeh, J. & Gholizadeh, H. (2013). The standardization of Victoria Stroop Color-Word Test among Iranian bilingual adolescents. Archives of Iranian Medicine, 16(7), 380-384. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23808773/.

[22] Tombaugh, T.N. (2004). Trail Making Test A and B: Normative data stratified by age and education. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 19(2), 203-214.

DOI: 10.1016/S0887-6177(03)00039-8

[23] Berghorst, L.H., Bogdan, R., Frank, M.J. & Pizzagalli, D.A. (2013). Acute stress selectively reduces reward sensitivity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 133.

DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00133

[24] Bogdan, R. & Pizzagalli, D.A. (2006). Acute stress reduces reward responsiveness: implications for depression. Biological Psychiatry, 60(10), 1147-1154.

DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.037

[25] Kumar, P., Berghorst, L.H., Nickerson, L.D., Dutra, S.J., Goer, F.K., Greve, D.N. & Pizzagalli, D.A. (2014). Differential effects of acute stress on anticipatory and consummatory phases of reward processing. Neuroscience, 266, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.neuroscience.2014.01.058.

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.01.058

[26] Hanson, J.L., Albert, D., Iselin, A.M.R., Carre, J.M., Dodge, K.A. & Hariri, A.R. (2016). Cumulative stress in childhood is associated with blunted reward-related brain activity in adulthood. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(3), 405-412. https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fscan%2Fnsv124.

DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv124

[27] Lighthall, N.R., Gorlick, M.A., Schoeke, A., Frank, M.J. & Mather, M. (2013). Stress modulates reinforcement learning in younger and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 28(1), 35-46.

DOI: 10.1037/a0029823

[28] Robinson, O.J., Overstreet, C., Charney, D.R., Vytal, K. & Grillon, C. (2013). Stress increases aversive prediction error signal in the ventral striatum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(10), 4129-4133.

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213923110

[29] Smith, D.V., Rigney, A.E. & Delgado, M.R. (2016). Distinct Reward Properties are Encoded via Corticostriatal Interactions. Scientific Reports, 6, 20093. https://doi.org/10.1038/ srep20093.

DOI: 10.1038/srep20093

[30] Szlyk, P., Caretti, D., Sils, I., Zubal, O. & Faughn, J.A. (1992). Effect of protective clothing ensembles on artillery battery crew performance. Environmental Science, corpus ID: 107045101. Retrieved from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Effect-of-Protective-Clothing-Ensembles-on-Battery-Szlyk-Caretti/78b720ccf71b54f9ba4bccd3f7c955b4a77f0c76.

[31] Jonson, A.T., Weiss, R.A. & Grove, C. (1992). Respirator performance rating table for mask design. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 53, 193-202.

DOI: 10.1080/15298669291359500

[32] Kelly, T.L., Ryman, D.H., Sucec, A.A., Yeager, J.E., Englund, C.E. & Smith, D.A. (1998). The effects of the M17A2 gas mask on reaction times and accuracy in males and females under non-exercising condition [NHRC Report No. 88-5] Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA, 1988], 17p. Retrieved from: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA192528.pdf.

DOI: 10.1037/e669082012-001