tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMJ
. 2024 Jul 24:386:e078918.
doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-078918. Personal protective effect of wearing surgical face masks in public spaces on self-reported respiratory symptoms in adults: pragmatic randomised superiority trial
Runar Barstad Solberg[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Atle Fretheim[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Ingeborg Hess Elgersma[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mette Fagernes[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Bjørn Gunnar Iversen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lars G Hemkens[SUP] 5 6 7 [/SUP], Christopher James Rose[SUP] 2 8 [/SUP], Petter Elstrøm[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Objective: To evaluate the personal protective effects of wearing versus not wearing surgical face masks in public spaces on self-reported respiratory symptoms over a 14 day period.
Design: Pragmatic randomised superiority trial.
Setting: Norway.
Participants: 4647 adults aged ≥18 years: 2371 were assigned to the intervention arm and 2276 to the control arm.
Interventions: Participants in the intervention arm were assigned to wear a surgical face mask in public spaces (eg, shopping centres, streets, public transport) over a 14 day period (mask wearing at home or work was not mentioned). Participants in the control arm were assigned to not wear a surgical face mask in public places.
Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was self-reported respiratory symptoms consistent with a respiratory infection. Secondary outcomes included self-reported and registered covid-19 infection.
Results: Between 10 February 2023 and 27 April 2023, 4647 participants were randomised of whom 4575 (2788 women (60.9%); mean age 51.0 (standard deviation 15.0) years) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis: 2313 (50.6%) in the intervention arm and 2262 (49.4%) in the control arm. 163 events (8.9%) of self-reported symptoms consistent with respiratory infection were reported in the intervention arm and 239 (12.2%) in the control arm. The marginal odds ratio was 0.71 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58 to 0.87; P=0.001) favouring the face mask intervention. The absolute risk difference was -3.2% (95% CI -5.2% to -1.3%; P<0.001). No statistically significant effect was found on self- reported (marginal odds ratio 1.07, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.98; P=0.82) or registered covid-19 infection (effect estimate and 95% CI not estimable owing to lack of events in the intervention arm).
Conclusion: Wearing a surgical face mask in public spaces over 14 days reduces the risk of self-reported symptoms consistent with a respiratory infection, compared with not wearing a surgical face mask.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05690516.
. 2024 Jul 24:386:e078918.
doi: 10.1136/bmj-2023-078918. Personal protective effect of wearing surgical face masks in public spaces on self-reported respiratory symptoms in adults: pragmatic randomised superiority trial
Runar Barstad Solberg[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Atle Fretheim[SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Ingeborg Hess Elgersma[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mette Fagernes[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Bjørn Gunnar Iversen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Lars G Hemkens[SUP] 5 6 7 [/SUP], Christopher James Rose[SUP] 2 8 [/SUP], Petter Elstrøm[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39048132
- PMCID: PMC11267995
- DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2023-078918
Objective: To evaluate the personal protective effects of wearing versus not wearing surgical face masks in public spaces on self-reported respiratory symptoms over a 14 day period.
Design: Pragmatic randomised superiority trial.
Setting: Norway.
Participants: 4647 adults aged ≥18 years: 2371 were assigned to the intervention arm and 2276 to the control arm.
Interventions: Participants in the intervention arm were assigned to wear a surgical face mask in public spaces (eg, shopping centres, streets, public transport) over a 14 day period (mask wearing at home or work was not mentioned). Participants in the control arm were assigned to not wear a surgical face mask in public places.
Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was self-reported respiratory symptoms consistent with a respiratory infection. Secondary outcomes included self-reported and registered covid-19 infection.
Results: Between 10 February 2023 and 27 April 2023, 4647 participants were randomised of whom 4575 (2788 women (60.9%); mean age 51.0 (standard deviation 15.0) years) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis: 2313 (50.6%) in the intervention arm and 2262 (49.4%) in the control arm. 163 events (8.9%) of self-reported symptoms consistent with respiratory infection were reported in the intervention arm and 239 (12.2%) in the control arm. The marginal odds ratio was 0.71 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58 to 0.87; P=0.001) favouring the face mask intervention. The absolute risk difference was -3.2% (95% CI -5.2% to -1.3%; P<0.001). No statistically significant effect was found on self- reported (marginal odds ratio 1.07, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.98; P=0.82) or registered covid-19 infection (effect estimate and 95% CI not estimable owing to lack of events in the intervention arm).
Conclusion: Wearing a surgical face mask in public spaces over 14 days reduces the risk of self-reported symptoms consistent with a respiratory infection, compared with not wearing a surgical face mask.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05690516.