The Effect of an Optimized Cooling Vest for Controlling the Women's Thermal Strain in the Hot Laboratory Conditions

Abstract

Background: Continuous activities in hot environments are a serious threat to people's health in society, especially in women. Objectives: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an optimized cooling vest to control the women's thermal strain in the hot laboratory conditions. Methods: The cooling vest (1500 g) was designed for women. This study carried out on 20 female students in a climatic chamber (37 degrees C, humidity, 39) on a treadmill (2 km/h and zero-degree gradient) in two modes, with the cooling vest (6 steps in 10 min) and without the cooling vest (4 stages in 10 min). The measured parameters at certain time points included heart rate, oral temperature, thermal sensation (TS), perceived exertion (PE), as well as physiological and perceptual strain indices (PSI and PeSI). Ultimately, the data were analyzed by SPSS software (Ver. 22), and the paired t-test was used to compare the data at different time points. Results: The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the mean TS, PE, PeSI, and PSI in the two test modes (P < 0.05). Also, the paired t-test showed no significant difference between the mean heart rate, resting heart rate, and oral temperature in the two test modes (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Considering the positive effects of the designed cooling vest for perceptual and physiological heat strain for women, it can be used as a useful and cost-effective solution in the warm environment to reduce the effects of exposure to heat.