Citation

Dreger RW. Ergonomics 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2023.2168766

PMID

36634243

Abstract

With an increase in the number of females entering the fire service it is important to understand potential impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) on females. This study compared selected physiological responses during two graded exercise tests (GXT) performed in a counterbalanced design: GXT(PT) - wearing athletic clothing while breathing through a low-resistance valve; and GXT(PPE) - wearing PPE and breathing from a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Sixteen males and 15 females acted as participants. VO(2)peak was significantly lower, by approximately 15%, during the GXT(PPE) compared to the GXT(PT) condition for both the males and females. Physiologically, the decreased oxygen consumption was strongly related to an attenuated ventilation (r = 0.75 and 0.71) and oxygen pulse (r = 0.94 and 0.93) for the males and females, respectively. The results of this investigation demonstrate that the SCBA and PPE impacts males and females to a similar relative extent and manner.

Language: en

Keywords

sex differences; Firefighting; maximal oxygen consumption; self-contained breathing apparatus