Effects of medical protective clothing on thermal status and health indicators in medical students
Keywords:
body temperature; heat stress disorders; muscle strength; personal protective equipmentAbstract
Introduction: Full medical personal protective equipment (PPE) may increase thermal strain in the wearer.
Objective: To evaluate the effects of full medical PPE on body thermal status and selected cardiovascular, respiratory, and physical performance indicators in healthy male medical students under simulated hot conditions.
Methods: An experimental study was conducted on 30 healthy male medical students at Vietnam Military Medical University from March 2025 to December 2025.
Results: After exercise, estimated core (sublingual) temperature increased under both conditions and was higher when wearing PPE (Δ = 0.65°C vs. 0.31°C). Mean skin temperature increased by 0.58°C with PPE versus 0.33°C without it, while mean body temperature increased by 0.64°C and 0.31°C, respectively (all p < 0.001). Heat storage was higher in the PPE condition (24.95 ± 6.57 vs 9.82 ± 4.76 kcal/m²; p = 0.010), whereas evaporated sweat and sweat evaporation efficiency were lower. Post-exercise systolic blood pressure was higher and post-exercise trunk pull strength was lower when wearing PPE.
Conclusions: PPE increase thermal strain, reduce heat dissipation efficiency, and adversely affect some cardiovascular and physical performance indicators under simulated hot conditions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Trung Hoang Nguyen, Minh Tong Duc, Chuyen Nguyen Van, Manh Phan Van
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