Trial reportClinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society2022
Effects of face masks on performance and cardiorespiratory response in well-trained athletes.
Trial report in Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05150613 (Individual Performance Analysis of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing / Maximal and Sub-maximal Exercise Testing With Different Face Masks), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 5 of them syntheses 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.
Individual Performance Analysis of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing / Maximal and Sub-maximal Exercise Testing With Different Face Masks
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Wearing a Mask During Exercise on Physiological and Psychological Outcomes in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- The influence of N95 and FFP2 masks on cardiorespiratory variables in healthy individuals during aerobic exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia : publicacao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisilogia · 2023Pooled it
- Facial mask acute effects on affective/psychological and exercise performance responses during exercise: A meta-analytical review.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- The Physiological Effects of Face Masks During Exercise Worn Due to COVID-19: A Systematic Review.Sports healthPooled it
- The pandemic legacy face mask: hidden barrier or insignificant factor in exercise performance?: A randomized crossover trial.Medicine · 2026Trial
- Respiratory pattern change in female and male runners by respiratory tract restriction using a respirator.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Impact of surgical mask on performance and cardiorespiratory responses to submaximal exercise in COVID-19 patients near hospital discharge: A randomized crossover trial.Clinical rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Effects of surgical masks on the responses to constant work-rate cycling performed at different intensity domains.Clinical physiology and functional imaging · 2022Trial
- Tolerability of facemask during physical exercises during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Review
- The effects of wearing face masks on the perception and mood of male healthy male adults during treadmill running: A pilot study.Physiological reports · 2024Article
- Influence of an Exercise-Specific Face Mask on Physiological and Perceptual Responses to Graded Exercise.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Article
- Sports despite masks: no negative effects of FFP2 face masks on cardiopulmonary exercise capacity in children.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Article
- Physiological Responses to Facemask Use during a Graded Treadmill Test in Healthy Male Adolescents and Young.Tanaffos · 2024Article
- Medical Face Masks Do Not Affect Acid-Base Balance Yet Might Facilitate the Transmission ofInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Effects of High-Intensity Exercise on Physiological Indicators of Recovery Period by Wearing Face Masks of Elite Athletes.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effect of High Intensity Interval Training Under Mask on Forced Vital Capacity in Football Players.International journal of exercise science · 2023Article
- Article
- Aerobic Performance Detriments while Wearing a Face Mask Diverge Among Males and Females.International journal of exercise science · 2022Article
- Commentary: Face masks in physical education classes during the COVID-19 delta variant wave: a call for awareness.German journal of exercise and sport research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, compulsory masks became an integral part of outdoor sports such as jogging in crowded areas (e.g. city parks) as well as indoor sports in gyms and sports centers. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the effects of medical face masks on performance and cardiorespiratory parameters in athletes.
methodsIn a randomized, cross-over design, 16 well-trained athletes (age 27 ± 7 years, peak oxygen consumption 56.2 ± 5.6 ml kg
resultsThere was a large effect of masks on performance with a significant reduction of maximum performance with SM (355 ± 41 Watt) and FFP2 (364 ± 43 Watt) compared to NM (377 ± 40 Watt), respectively (p < 0.001; ηp
conclusionBoth SM and to a lesser extent FFP2 were associated with reduced maximum performance, minute ventilation, and oxygen consumption. For strenuous anaerobic exercise, an FFP2 mask may be preferred over an SM.
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.