| Characteristics | Occurrence of headaches with increased N95 usage | Total (n = 176) | |
| Yes (n = 65) | No (n = 111) | ||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | (n = 62) 29.6 (5.45) | (n = 102) 34.4 (8.77)) | 32.6 (8.01) |
| Age groups |
|
|
|
| <32 years old | 42 (67.7) | 44 (43.1) | 86 (52.4) |
| ≥32 years old | 20 (32.3) | 58 (58.9) | 78 (47.6) |
| Occupation |
|
|
|
| Doctor | 35 (53.8) | 52 (46.8) | 87 (49.4) |
| Nurse | 9 (13.8) | 14 (12.6) | 23 (13.1) |
| Operating Theatre staff | 21 (32.3) | 45 (40.5) | 66 (37.5) |
| Gender |
|
|
|
| Male | 5 (7.7) | 21 (18.9) | 26 (14.8) |
| Female | 60 (92.3) | 90 (81.1) | 150 (85.2) |
| Type of N95 mask |
|
|
|
| 3M 1860/1860S | 47 (72.3) | 81 (73.0) | 128 (72.7) |
| 3M 8210 | 5 (7.7) | 8 (7.2) | 13 (7.4) |
| 3M 1870+ | 13 (20.0) | 22 (19.8) | 35 (19.9) |
| Hours wearing N95 mask |
|
|
|
| <4 hours | 17 (26.2) | 29 (26.1) | 46 (26.1) |
| ≥4 hours | 48 (73.9) | 82 (73.9) | 130 (73.9) |
| Pre-existing headache | 16 (25.4) | 9 (8.3) | 25 (14.5) |
| VAS pain score, median (IQR [Min - Max]) | 4.0 (3 - 6 [1 - 10]) |
|
|
| Having to take analgesia to relieve headache | 20 (30.8) |
| 20 (11.4) |
| “Headaches have affected my work” |
|
|
|
| Strongly agree | 6 (9.2) |
| 6 (3.4) |
| Agree | 38 (58.5) |
| 38 (21.6) |
| Neutral | 16 (24.6) |
| 16 (9.1) |
| Disagree | 5 (7.7) |
| 5 (2.8) |
| Strongly disagree | 0 |
| 0 |
| Other symptoms |
|
|
|
| Skin damage | 8 (12.3) | 19 (17.1) | 27 (15.3) |
| Shortness of breath | 10 (15.4) | 34 (30.6) | 44 (25.0) |
| Giddiness | 4 (6.2) | 6 (5.4) | 10 (5.7) |
| Nausea | 4 (6.2) | 0 | 4 (2.3) |
| Ear pain | 2 (3.1) | 1 (0.9) | 3 (1.7) |