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Face masks may increase risk of stillbirth, testicular dysfunction and cognitive decline in children, ‘explosive’ new research suggests.
A review of dozens of studies on face coverings suggested that they can cause mild carbon dioxide poisoning when worn for extended periods.
The German academics who conducted the study believe that masks create a pocket of dead space between the mouth and the mask, which traps the poisonous gas.
They say the buildup of CO2 in pregnant women’s bodies can cause complications for the unborn fetus. They point that out CO2 also contributes to oxidative stress, which can impair cognition and cause testicular problems in men.
But independent doctors have questioned the study’s conclusions — which never looked directly at health complications and mask use, describing the link as “unlikely.”
A study the German researchers looked at showed that just 0.3 percent long-term exposure to CO2 in both pregnant rats and young mice led to brain damage, increased anxiety and poorer memory. Another found that male mice exposed to 2.5 percent CO2 — equivalent to 0.5 percent for humans — for four hours resulted in the destruction of testicular cells and sperm. A third study found that three percent CO2 (equivalent to 0.8 percent for humans) caused stillbirth and birth defects in pregnant rats
Referring to the increase in stillbirths during the pandemic, the German researchers said: “There is circumstantial evidence that popular mask use may be related to current observations of a significant 28 percent to 33 percent increase in stillbirths worldwide.”
“(And) impaired verbal, motor and overall cognitive performance of two full standard deviations in scores in children born during the pandemic,” the researchers wrote in the paper, published in Heliyon magazine.
But the study failed to conclusively prove that the masks were directly responsible for any of these complications.
Dr. Stuart Fischer, an emergency room physician in New York, wondered if there was a “toxic buildup” of CO2.
He said: ‘I wouldn’t say this happens because the body adjusts the pH, the acid/base balance very quickly. Respiratory acidosis due to face masks is unlikely, although short-term side effects can affect people with chronic lung disease.”
The German research team collected data from 43 previously published studies on CO2 exposure, mask wearing and pregnancy.
They found that after wearing a mask for more than five minutes, CO2 levels in the air breathed rose to between 1.4 percent and 3.2 percent.
In a mask study conducted in Germany, researchers measured the CO2 concentration of air behind surgical masks worn by 15 healthy men. Within 30 minutes, the CO2 concentration rose to about 2.8-3.2 percent.
In another study in Italy, scientists measured the air under surgical masks worn in a laboratory and found a concentration between 0.22 and 0.29 percent within five minutes.
Masks provide breathing resistance and create a dead space that traps CO2, leading to more inhaled and re-breathed CO2, the reviewers said.
The gas makes up about 0.04 percent of all air breathed in, by comparison, and the Department of Agriculture said safe levels should be below 0.5 percent for eight hours of exposure.
One study found that exposure to 0.48 percent CO2 for 10 minutes a day for 20 days in pregnant guinea pigs led to stillbirth and birth defects in 68 percent of puppies
The researchers then looked at studies that focused on the effect of similar CO2 levels on animals such as mice and rats.
Mammals such as mice and rats exposed to 0.3 percent carbon dioxide for extended periods produced offspring with “irreversible neuron damage,” the review found.
In all, the researchers looked at studies from the beginning of the scientific databases they searched through November 30, 2021.
The main caveat of the research is that the studies on the possible toxic effects of carbon dioxide are animal studies – because these experiments would not be ethical in humans.
The researchers also noted that none of the studies in their review looked directly at mask use and miscarriages, infertility, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
The researchers also noted that the exact effects of toxic CO2 levels on unborn life are not known in great detail.
Carbon dioxide is known to contribute to oxidative stress, which the researchers suggested may hinder fetal development.
Dr. Kevin Bass, a PhD student in cell and molecular biology, said on Twitter that the new paper was “explosive.”
But he said: “We have no good evidence in pregnant women … of the long-term effects of mask wearing and therefore no evidence that these effects occur in women.”
He added: “All we have are animal studies and a clear indication that changes in CO2 levels occur in women who wear a mask.”
Stillbirths and pregnancy complications increased during the Covid pandemic, and preeclampsia and other pregnancy complications were attributed to the virus.
Factors other than mask-wearing are likely to play a role, such as hospital closures and delayed care.
It comes after three years of fierce debate over the effectiveness of masks.
The largest review from the Cochrane Institute, the ‘gold standard’ of evidence-based reviews, based in London, found they made little to no difference to infections, but smaller studies suggest there is a lower risk of contracting Covid .
Mask mandates on transportation systems in America were supported by fines of up to $3,000 for repeat offenders.
Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, initially advised people not to wear masks, which he later claimed because he feared there wouldn’t be enough for health care workers.
He further advised that everyone should wear a mask.