Archive

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Med. Pr. 2001;52(1)

Effects of work in air-conditioning cabin and stay in resting chamber on the blood pressure and heart rate of the operators working in deeper copper mine faces

Wpływ pracy w kabinach klimatyzowanych i pobytu w kabinie "wypoczynkowej" na ciśnienie tętnicze i częstość skurczów serca u oper

L. Borodulin-Nadzieja, A. Janocha, T. Pietraszkiewicz, E. Salomon, M. Stańda

Abstract

This paper is part of a wider comparative study of the heart rate, blood pressure, external and core temperature in operators of self-propelled mining machines with and without air-conditioning cabins. Two groups, each of ten operators, characterised by the similar age and duration of employment, stayed for 20 min in a specially prepared resting chamber with much more advantageous microclimatic conditions. The results of our examinations (Holter heart rate and continuous blood pressure recordings, external and core temperature measurements) revealed that during the work (particularly during the increased work-load) all parameters recorded were significantly lower in air-conditioning cabins as compared with the group working without air-condition. In both groups, a complete restitution of the heart rate and blood pressure was observed after a 20-min stay in the resting chamber. During the work, a statistically significant increase in the external temperature was found in both groups of operators, whereas the increase in the core temperature was observed only in operators working without air-condition. After a 20-min stay in the resting chamber, a complete return to the normal temperature was noted only in operators working in air-conditioned cabins. Med Pr 2001; 52; 1; 7-14

Key words

air-conditioned cabin, cabin without air-conditioning, microclimatic conditions, Holter method, heart-rate restitution