Absolute vs. Weight-Related Maximum Oxygen Uptake in Firefighters: Fitness Evaluation with and without Protective Clothing and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus among Age Group

作者：Perroni Fabrizio; Guidetti Laura; Cignitti Lamberto; Baldari Carlo^*

来源：PLos One, 2015, 10(3): e0119757.

DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0119757

During fire emergencies, firefighters wear personal protective devices (PC) and a self-contained breathing apparatus (S.C.B.A.) to be protected from injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of aerobic level in 197 firefighters (age: 34 +/- 7 yr; BMI: 24.4 +/- 2.3 kg.m(-2)), evaluated by a Queen's College Step field Test (QCST), performed with and without fire protective garments, and to analyze the differences among age groups (<25 yr; 26-30 yr, 31-35 yr, 36-40 yr and >40 yr). Variance analysis was applied to assess differences (p < 0.05) between tests and age groups observed in absolute and weight-related values, while a correlation was examined between QCST with and without PC+S.C.B.A. The results have shown that a 13% of firefighters failed to complete the test with PC+S.C.B.A. and significant differences between QCST performed with and without PC+S.C.B.A. in absolute (F(1,169) = 42.6, p < 0.0001) and weight-related (F(1,169) = 339.9, p < 0.0001) terms. A better correlation has been found in L.min(-1) (r=0.67) than in ml.kg(-1).min(-1) (r=0.54). Moreover, we found significant differences among age groups both in absolute and weightrelated values. The assessment of maximum oxygen uptake of firefighters in absolute term can be a useful tool to evaluate the firefighters' cardiovascular strain.

• 出版日期2015-3-12