Effects of chlorine and exercise on the unified airway in adolescent elite Scottish swimmers

Abstract

Combined exposure to chlorine and exercise did not affect surrogate markers of inflammation in the unified airway. There was a high prevalence of undiagnosed EIB.

Seasonal dynamics of water and air chemistry in an indoor chlorinated swimming pool

“…Previous studies have shown positive correlation between irritation symptoms among swimmers and patrons and high gas-phase NCl 3 concentration at indoor pool facilities (Bowen et al, 2007;Kaydos-Daniels et al, 2008). Impaired respiratory system behavior has been observed among elite swimmers, which suggests the potential for adverse health effects resulting from frequent visit to swimming pool environments (Clearie et al, 2010;Bougault and Boulet, 2012).…”

Exercise-Induced Lung Disease: Too Much of a Good Thing?

“…While studies focus on athletes 18-20 years, they do include older adolescents (16-18 years). Cold-weather athletes, [17][18][19][20] ice rink athletes, [21][22][23][24][25]78 and swimmers 32,40,79,80 have a particularly high prevalence of EIB. EIB in endurance athletes develops relatively late and occurs during their sports careers.…”

Is there a need to improve asthma diagnosis in young athletes?

“…It is however well recognized that a significant number of young asymptomatic athletes with no previous history or diagnosis of asthma/EIB have AHR [3,7,9]. As with untrained children, this preclinical form of AHR could be a precursor of asthma requiring treatment; hence the need for early detection.…”

“…In sports like swimming, 25-50% of young competitive athletes could suffer from asthma/AHR [3,[7][8][9]. In soccer and basketball, the prevalence in 12-to14-year-old players has recently been estimated at~20% [3].…”

“…As such, serial measurements of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) -an index of airway caliber -are recommended for objective assessment of EIB [6]. The use of respiratory symptoms alone is strongly discouraged for diagnostic purpose, in that symptoms are neither sufficient, nor essential to confirm the presence of asthma/EIB in young athletes [3,[7][8][9]. Further, resting spirometry measurements are poor predictors of variable airflow obstruction in athletes [10].…”