Effects of the use of face masks on the vital signs and headache of healthy healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A hospital-based cross-sectional study

The study aimed to assess the impact of wearing protective facial masks (PFMs) on various health parameters of hospital staff amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of wearing a face mask on blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, headache, fatigue, and shortness of breath in hospital staff during routine work shifts and COVID-19. In this study, participants from various clinical, administrative, and hospital cleaning professions who had at least one month of work experience were enrolled and their oxygen saturation (SpO₂), heart rate (HR), and headache were measured during routine shifts with normal daily activities. The fatigue severity scale (FSS) and the modified Borg dyspnea scale were used to assess the participants. The significance level was set at 0.05. SpO₂ and HR were lower at the end of the work shift than at the beginning (93.96 ± 1.57 vs. 95.03 ± 1.7 and 82.1 ± 11.83 vs. 83.93 ± 12.31, respectively). According to the result of the Borg scale, 59.2 % of the participants did not feel short of breath and 34.3 % had “mild-moderate” shortness of breath. The total FSS (21.46 ± 2.31) showed that the participants did not fall into the “fatigued” category. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant difference in Borg score, FSS, HR, and SpO₂ participants with different mask types (P > 0.05). The result of the Kruskal-Wallis test also showed no significant difference in Borg score between the occupational groups (P = 0.073). The results showed that the frequency of pre-existing headaches had increased in 18.2 % of the respondents. The findings indicated that wearing PFMs did not have a notable impact on oxygen levels and heart rate during the regular tasks of hospital staff. However, the use of PFMs led to the development of new headaches associated with PFMs or worsened existing headaches.