FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE CARDIORESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF STUDENTS IN THE CONDITIONS OF A METRO SCHOOL

Abstract

This article examines the issue of how the specific «metro-school» environment affects the physiological state of senior high school students in a frontline city. In the context of ongoing military operations, subterranean areas of the metropolitan infrastructure have emerged as a viable alternative to conventional educational settings. However, these environments are characterised by a deficiency in natural light, inadequate ventilation systems, and elevated levels of anthropogenic noise. The study hypothesises that such conditions, in combination with chronic stress from shelling, result in a depletion of the cardiorespiratory system in adolescents. This depletion serves as a key indicator of general homeostasis. During the course of the experiment, 59 students (27 males and 32 females) from Kharkiv Lyceum No. 116 were examined. The methodology comprised hemodynamic monitoring, pulse oximetry, spirometry, and functional hypoxic tests, enabling an assessment of both resting states and the body’s latent reserves in response to oxygen deficiency.
The findings demonstrate that, while average hemodynamic and blood oxygenation levels (97 %) formally align with age-related norms, a detailed individual analysis reveals signs of latent functional strain. The data suggest that the subway environment places increased demands on the autonomic regulation of adolescents. The analysis revealed a range of heterogeneous reactions, ranging from stable blood saturation to pronounced sympathotonic manifestations, such as tachycardia (in 11–14 % of subjects) and increased systolic blood pressure (in 16.9 %), particularly among males. A fundamental element of the study was the identification of a risk group among students exhibiting a deficiency in vital lung capacity (15.5 % of males and 21 % of females). The most significant findings emerged from the results of hypoxic tests, which revealed low tolerance to oxygen deprivation: unsatisfactory results in the Stange test were recorded in 42.4 % of students, and in the Hench test in 30.5 %. This finding is indicative of low respiratory muscle endurance and insufficient compensatory mechanisms in cardiovascular oxygen transport.
A perusal of the literature reveals that the results of adaptive potential analysis indicate that only 32.2 % of adolescents demonstrate an adequate degree of adaptation. The majority of students (59.3 %) exhibited functional strain, which is indicative of a gradual exhaustion of the body's resources. The present study found that males demonstrated a lower level of resistance to exogenous factors (63 % in a state of strain) in comparison to females (56.3 %). Consequently, prolonged exposure to an unfamiliar subterranean environment against the backdrop of war constitutes a potent stressor, necessitating the implementation of bespoke wellness programs and regular psychophysiological monitoring to stabilize the functional state of students.