OXYGEN REDUCTION AND REACTION TIME IN HYPOXIC AND NORMAL DRIVERS

THIRTY YOUNG, HEALTHY, NONSMOKING DRIVERS AND 30 OLDER, PRESUMABLY HYPOXIC, NONSMOKING DRIVERS WERE EXPOSED TO AN AVERAGE OF 38.1 PPM OF CARBON MONOXIDE DURING 90 MINUTES OF COMMUTING TRAFFIC. THESE GROUPS SHOWED AN AVERAGE OF 0.49 AND 1.14 VOL% REDUCTION IN OXYGEN OF CAPILLARY BLOOD, RESPECTIVELY. A CONTROL GROUP OF 30 AVERAGED A 0.04 VOL% REDUCTION. CORRELATION OF CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE WITH OXYGEN REDUCTION WAS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT. IN BOTH GROUPS, 27 OF THE 30 DRIVERS WERE SLOWER IN REACTION TIME TO A VISUAL STIMULUS AFTER BEING IN TRAFFIC. THE CONTROL GROUP WAS 3.5% FASTER IN REACTION TIME THE SECOND TIME. CORRELATION OF OXYGEN REDUCTION AND TIME SLOWING WAS SIGNIFICANT. THE HYPOXIC DRIVERS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LESS OXYGEN AND WERE SIGNIFICANTLY SLOWER IN REACTION TIME AT THE BEGINNING THAN WERE THE NORMAL DRIVERS. /SRIS/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 20, pp 597-601, 1 FIG, 2 TAB, 21 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  American Medical Association

  535 North Dearborn Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60610
• Authors:
  • RAMSEY, J M
• Publication Date: 1970-5

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Archives of Environmental Health
  • Publisher: Heldref Publications

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Blood; Capillaries; Carbon monoxide; Correlation analysis; Drivers; Oxygen; Reaction time; Reduction (Chemistry)
• Old TRIS Terms: Reduction
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223263
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 5 1970 12:00AM