Respirator Fit and Facial Dimensions of Two Minority Groups

Facial Anthropometric Dimensions of Koreans and Their Associations with Fit of Quarter-Mask Respirators.

“…The results of facial length dimensions measured in this study were generally similar to those reported in other Korean studies 1,12) . However, most facial dimensions measured on this Korean population 1,12) were found to be significantly different from corresponding dimensions in other Caucasian ethnic groups 4,[8][9][10][18][19][20] including face width, lip width, nose width, and nasal root breadth. These comparisons revealed that, regardless of *All measurements for males were significantly higher than those of for females (p<0.001) by two sample t-test except NRBR.…”

“…Gender differences in facial dimensions have also been found in studies on American populations. Brazile et al 9) found that, in Americans, facial dimensions were significantly different between males and females except for biocular breadth and nasal root breadth (p=0.0001).…”

“…1. These dimensions have been shown to closely related to the performance of quarter and half mask respirators 5,9) . To reduce interpersonal variations facial anthropometric data were collected by one person, who was trained for facial dimension measurements from the Anthropology Research Project, Inc., (Yellow Springs, OH 45387, USA).…”

“…Previous studies on the seal of tight-fitting respirators to wearers' faces have focused mainly on White (Caucasian) males 4,5) . A review of literature revealed that only a limited amount of research on other ethnic groups including Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have been done [6][7][8][9] . Some of these studies indicated that ethnic and racial groups were afforded a lower level of protection than Whites 9) and that these groups may have a significantly more difficult time obtaining an adequate fit with any given brand of respirator 10) .…”

“…A review of literature revealed that only a limited amount of research on other ethnic groups including Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have been done [6][7][8][9] . Some of these studies indicated that ethnic and racial groups were afforded a lower level of protection than Whites 9) and that these groups may have a significantly more difficult time obtaining an adequate fit with any given brand of respirator 10) . In Korea, two studies 1,11) have been published comparing the performance of domestic respirators to those of imported ones.…”