Physical activity is not associated with spirometric indices in lung-healthy German youth

Abstract

In lung disease, physical activity improves lung function and reduces morbidity. However, healthy populations are not well studied. We estimate the relationship between spirometric indices and accelerometric physical activity in lung-healthy adolescents.895 nonsmoking German adolescents without chronic lung disease (45% male, mean±sd age 15.2±0.26 years) from the GINIplus and LISAplus cohorts completed questionnaires, spirometry, 7-day accelerometry and an activity diary. Physical activity was measured as minutes, quintiles and regularity of daily moderate, vigorous and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), participation in sport and active commuting to school. Primary outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC; they were separately correlated with physical activity and adjusted for confounders of respiratory function, including early-life exposures.Adolescents averaged 40 min MVPA per day, typical for European youth. 79% participated in sports and 51% commuted actively. An association was suggested between 3% higher FVC (∼100 mL) and either extreme MVPA quintile or percentage of days with >30 min MVPA (p<0.05). However, after Bonferroni correction all associations between spirometry, active lifestyle and physical activity were nonsignificant.Spirometric indices were not significantly associated with active lifestyle or measures of activity in lung-healthy adolescents after adjustment for confounding and multiple-comparison artefacts.

Asthma and Rhinitis Are Associated with Less Objectively-Measured Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity, but Similar Sport Participation, in Adolescent German Boys: GINIplus and LISAplus Cohorts

“…[29] Similar small differences separated lung-healthy controls from children with respiratory conditions (Table 2) but socioeconomic or anthropometric differences between the groups were small.…”

Daily physical activity and lung function decline in adult-onset asthma: a 12-year follow-up study

“…We found one daily physical activity intervention study in pediatric patients with asthma [38], and no change in FEV 1 was registered during a one-week follow-up. Also, in a recent cross-sectional study [39] daily physical activity had no effect on spirometric values of healthy adolescents. In patients with childhood-onset asthma there is a positive association between physical activity and lung function during a 3 week period [40], but this could be due to several acute bronchodilations or patients unconsciously adjusting their daily activity according to their lung function earlier that day.…”

Recent advances in understanding lung function development

“…Identifying effective strategies—apart from avoiding obvious risk factors like tobacco smoke, air pollution exposure, and recurrent respiratory infections—to enhance this early catch-up would have critical implications. The roles of dietary components and supplementations 52, 53 and those of physical activity and fitness 60– 62 are among those being investigated. Molecules that may play a direct protective role in the lung—such as the club cell secretory protein (CC16)—are also being evaluated in epidemiological 102, 103 and clinical 104, 105 studies and may hold promise as future therapeutic strategies.…”

“…Physical activity and fitness have been associated with childhood lung function in some 60, 61 , but not all 62 studies. However, recent longitudinal data show that achieving increased fitness from young adulthood to middle age is associated with less decline in lung health over time 63 .…”