Physiological strain of wearing aluminized protective clothing at rest in young, middle-aged, and older men

• Published in: International journal of industrial ergonomics 2000-02, Vol.25 (2), p.195-202
• Main Authors: Marszalek, Anna, Smolander, Juhani, Sołtyński, Krzysztof, Sobolewski, Andrzej
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; body size; heart rate; heat tolerance; Protective clothing; Thermal strain
• ISSN: 0169-8141; 1872-8219
• DOI: 10.1016/S0169-8141(98)00107-3

During surveillance tasks in hot industrial working sites it is often necessary to use reflective protective clothing against radiant heat sources. The aim of the present study was to assess the thermal strain of wearing radiation protective clothing in men of differing age. The study subjects were 24 healthy, normotensive, unacclimated men: 9 young (20–28yr) (group I), 9 middle-aged (43–52yr) (group II) and 6 older men (58–65yr) (group III). The subjects were similar in daily physical activity (low), body size and subcutaneous fat thickness. All subjects rested in a sitting position for 60min in a climatic chamber in two experiments with WBGT of around 29°C that represented a low stress (LS, low radiant heat and little clothing) and high stress (HS, high radiant heat and aluminized protective clothing). In LS, the subjects wore shorts and the WBGT was driven by air temperature and humidity (tnwb =25°C, tg =38°C). In HS, subjects wore an aluminized suit and the WBGT was driven by high radiant heat from infrared heaters (tnwb =22°C, tg=41°C). During the experiments, rectal and skin temperatures, heart rate, body mass loss, and blood pressure were measured, and subjective ratings were collected. No differences in rectal temperature, skin temperatures and in total body sweat rate were observed between the age groups in LS and HS. Heart rate response was not different between LS and HS, but it was significantly higher in group III compared to groups I and II at rest and at the end of both exposures. Mean arterial blood pressure was significantly higher in groups III and II than in group I (p