Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Background Occupational exposure to heat stress is a major health concern in hot and dry environments, particularly in industries where engineering controls are limited. Evaporative cooling garments have been proposed as a practical strategy to reduce physiological heat strain; however, the effectiveness of combined multi-garment systems remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different configurations of evaporative cooling garments on physiological and perceptual responses during intermittent work in a hot-dry laboratory environment. Methods In a randomized crossover design, 15 healthy male participants completed three experimental conditions: no cooling (CON), evaporative cooling vest only (VES), and a combined cooling system including vest, neck wrap, and pants (GAR). Experiments were conducted in a climatic chamber (35 ± 1°C, 20 ± 5% RH) under seated rest and light treadmill walking. Physiological variables (heart rate, oral temperature, and local skin temperatures) and perceptual responses were recorded during 60 min of heat exposure. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Results Both cooling conditions significantly reduced local skin temperatures across all measured body regions compared with CON (p < 0.001). The GAR condition produced additional reductions in neck and thigh temperatures compared with VES (p < 0.05), while no significant differences were observed between VES and GAR in most trunk regions. No significant differences were found in oral temperature among conditions. Heart rate showed a transient reduction at 15 min in the GAR condition, with no sustained differences thereafter. Conclusion Evaporative cooling garments effectively attenuate peripheral heat strain under hot-dry conditions; however, their influence on core temperature and cardiovascular responses is limited. The cooling vest alone provides most physiological benefits, while combined systems offer only marginal additional advantages.</p>