ReviewEuropean journal of medical research2020
Face masks: benefits and risks during the COVID-19 crisis.
Review in European journal of medical research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 249 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations Between Wearing Masks and Respiratory Viral Infections: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the health care utilization of cancer patients.BMC cancer · 2023Trial
- Carbon dioxide rises beyond acceptable safety levels in children under nose and mouth covering: Results of an experimental measurement study in healthy children.Environmental research · 2022Trial
- Effects of surgical and cloth facemasks during a submaximal exercise test in healthy adults.Respiratory medicine · 2021Trial
- Face mask littering: environmental impacts, regulatory challenges, and AI-driven waste management strategies for the postpandemic era.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2026Review
- How Healthcare Teams Appear to the Observer-An Approach to the Complexities of Mask-Wearing Attitudes During the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Balancing strategies in vaccination and mask-wearing for Chinese medical staff in post-COVID-19 era: a modelling study and cost-effectiveness analysis.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Assessing the behavior of food handlers wearing face masks and the passage of bacteria through disposable masks.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2025Article
- Population Behavior Regarding the Use of Face Masks to Prevent the Transmission of Respiratory Infections: Lessons to Be Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Age and urban-rural disparities in cutaneous melanoma mortality rates in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2024Article
- The mask paradox between perception of discomfort and reality of physiological effects in healthy college students in China: a panel study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The Impact of Wearing Different Face Masks on Vigorous Physical Exercise Performance and Perceived Exertion among COVID-19 Infected vs. Uninfected Female Students.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2023Article
- Effects of Target Variables on Interpersonal Distance Perception for Young Taiwanese during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Face Mask Use and Associated Factors Among Students: Mixed Methods Study.Interactive journal of medical research · 2023Article
- Nosocomial COVID-19 at a comprehensive cancer center during the first year of the pandemic: Lessons learned.American journal of infection control · 2023Article
- Facial expression and emotion.Laryngo- rhino- otologie · 2023Article
- The effect of N95 respirators on vital parameters, PETCOIrish journal of medical science · 2023Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic Control Measures and Their Impact on University Students and Family Members in a Central Region of Spain.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Article
- Effect of High Intensity Interval Training Under Mask on Forced Vital Capacity in Football Players.International journal of exercise science · 2023Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
26 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe German government has made it mandatory to wear respiratory masks covering mouth and nose (MNC) as an effective strategy to fight SARS-CoV-2 infections. In many countries, this directive has been extended on shopping malls or public transportation. The aim of this paper is to critically analyze the statutory regulation to wear protective masks during the COVID-19 crisis from a medical standpoint.
methodsWe performed an extensive query of the most recent publications addressing the prevention of viral infections including the use of face masks in the community as a method to prevent the spread of the infection. We addressed the issues of practicability, professional use, and acceptability based on the community and the environment where the user resided.
resultsUpon our critical review of the available literature, we found only weak evidence for wearing a face mask as an efficient hygienic tool to prevent the spread of a viral infection. However, the use of MNC seems to be linked to relevant protection during close contact scenarios by limiting pathogen-containing aerosol and liquid droplet dissemination. Importantly, we found evidence for significant respiratory compromise in patients with severe obstructive pulmonary disease, secondary to the development of hypercapnia. This could also happen in patients with lung infections, with or without SARS-CoV-2.
conclusionEpidemiologists currently emphasize that wearing MNC will effectively interrupt airborne infections in the community. The government and the politicians have followed these recommendations and used them to both advise and, in some cases, mandate the general population to wear MNC in public locations. Overall, the results seem to suggest that there are some clinically relevant scenarios where the use of MNC necessitates more defined recommendations. Our critical evaluation of the literature both highlights the protective effects of certain types of face masks in defined risk groups, and emphasizes their potential risks.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.