Children with asthma and physical exercise: effects of an exercise programme

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a physical exercise programme for chi ldren with asthma on an outpatient basis. Design: Intervention study: a randomized pretest-post-test control group de sign. Setting and subjects: Forty-seven children with clinically diagnosed asthma participated in the intervention study, including 34 boys and 13 girls, fr om 8 to 13 years of age (mean age 10.6). Interventions: The physical exercise programme consisted of regular group e xercises and home exercises for a period of three months. It was based on a theoretical model describing the relationships between physical competence (condition), perceived physical competence, self-esteem and coping behavio ur. Main outcome measures: Maximum incremental exercise test, endurance test, t he Self-Perception Profile for Children (CBSK), the Asthma Coping Test (ACB T), lung function and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Results: The results showed significant effects of the intervention program me on physical condition. There was a significant improvement of 15 W on th e maximal workload (W-max) (p<0.001), of 7% on Vo(2)max (oxygen uptake) (p= 0.002) and a significant decrease on heart rate submaximal of 6% (p=0.001). There was also a significant improvement of 50% in running time measured w ith the endurance test (p=0.021). Furthermore, a significant effect of the intervention was seen on coping with asthma (p=0.003). Conclusion: It was concluded that participation in the physical exercise pr ogramme not only enhanced physical fitness, but also improved coping behavi our with asthma.