Nasrollahi Neda, Jowett Tim, Machado Liana
Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, William James Building, 275 Leith Walk, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Cogn Process. 2025 Feb;26(1):189-199. doi: 10.1007/s10339-024-01238-5. Epub 2024 Oct 23.
Despite significant public concerns voiced about wearing face masks and reports from healthcare workers of adverse effects on cognition, research into potential adverse effects remains limited. The present trial investigated the effects of wearing a surgical face mask for prolonged periods on cognitive functioning and mood. We tested 42 university students (18-36 years old) using a controlled counterbalanced crossover design that involved a mask session and a control session, separated by 1 week. The two sessions were identical except that on the day of the mask session, participants were asked to wear a surgical mask for at least 8 h and to continue wearing it while visiting our laboratory, during which cognitive performance and mood were assessed as per the control session. Results showed that participants reported feeling less happy and more tense during the mask session compared to no-mask control. Additionally, cognitive performance differed between the two sessions for a selective attention task, reflecting slower response latencies during the mask session, which for the most part appeared to be driven by those who felt anxious wearing the mask. Although significant differences emerged for only two of six mood scales and one of eight cognitive tests, the evidence of adverse effects in a university population signals a need for research investigating vulnerable populations. Individuals with elevated anxiety may be particularly important to target.Trail Registration: This randomized controlled trial was retrospectively registered (ACTRN12620001215910). Date registered: 16/11/2020, retrospectively registered.
尽管公众对佩戴口罩表达了重大担忧，且医护人员报告了口罩对认知的不良影响，但对潜在不良影响的研究仍然有限。本试验调查了长时间佩戴外科口罩对认知功能和情绪的影响。我们采用了一种对照平衡交叉设计对42名大学生（18至36岁）进行测试，该设计包括一个戴口罩时段和一个对照时段，中间间隔1周。这两个时段完全相同，只是在戴口罩时段当天，要求参与者佩戴外科口罩至少8小时，并在访问我们实验室期间持续佩戴，在此期间按照对照时段的方式评估认知表现和情绪。结果显示，与无口罩对照相比，参与者在戴口罩时段报告的愉悦感更低，紧张感更强。此外，在一项选择性注意力任务中，两个时段的认知表现存在差异，这反映出戴口罩时段的反应潜伏期更长，在很大程度上这似乎是由那些戴口罩时感到焦虑的人所驱动的。尽管在六个情绪量表中只有两个以及八个认知测试中只有一个出现了显著差异，但大学人群中存在不良影响的证据表明需要对弱势群体进行研究。针对焦虑水平较高的个体可能尤为重要。试验注册：本随机对照试验进行了回顾性注册（ACTRN12620001215910）。注册日期：2020年11月16日，回顾性注册。
