title: The effect of artificial smoke compound on physiological responses, cognitive functions and work performance during firefighting activities in a smoke-diving room: an intervention study.
abstract: This study investigated the combined effect of firefighting operations and exposure to smoke on physiological responses, cognitive functions and physical performance among firefighters. Each firefighter was engaged in two experimental conditions: (a) without artificial smoke, control (NS); (b) with artificial smoke (WS). The results of data analysis revealed that heart rate and body temperature increased significantly after the firefighting activities in the two conditions relative to baseline. In addition, reaction time (RT) and correct response (CR) decreased after the activity relative to baseline and there was a significant difference in RT and CR between the NS and WS conditions. There was also a significant difference in performance time between the NS and WS conditions. These findings demonstrated that a smoke compound has an insignificant effect on physiological responses during firefighting activity. On the contrary, the smoke compound has a detrimental influence on cognitive and physical performance.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Occupational Health , Hamadan University of Medical Sciences , Iran.
authors.forename: Rasoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hemmatjo
authors.affiliation: b Ergonomics Department , Hamadan University of Medical Sciences , Iran.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8545-5845
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motamedzade
authors.affiliation: c Department of Occupational Health , Hamadan University of Medical Science , Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aliabadi
authors.affiliation: c Department of Occupational Health , Hamadan University of Medical Science , Iran.
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kalatpour
authors.affiliation: d Department of Biostatistics , Hamadan University of Medical Science , Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farhadian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D061388:Firefighters / Q000523:psychology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D000073397:Occupational Stress / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000066477:Work Performance
chemical_list: D012906:Smoke
keywords: artificial smoke compound; cognitive function; firefighter; performance time; physiological responses; smoke-diving room