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Reduced airway responsiveness in nonelite runners
Nicola Scichilone1, Giuseppe Morici, Roberto Marchese
1Institute of Medicine and Pneumology, Respiratory Unit; University of Palermo, Italy. n.scichilone@libero.it
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|December 7, 2005
Summary
Endurance training attenuates airway responsiveness in nonasthmatic runners. This effect was further enhanced after marathon running, suggesting exercise-induced changes in airway tone.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Pulmonary Function Testing
Background:
- Airway responsiveness in nonasthmatic endurance athletes is not well understood.
- Deep inspirations can oppose airway narrowing in nonasthmatic individuals.
- Endurance training may alter airway reactivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in airway responsiveness between nonelite endurance runners and sedentary individuals.
- To test the hypothesis that airway responsiveness differs between trained and untrained nonasthmatic subjects.
- To assess airway responsiveness using methacholine challenge without deep inspirations.
Main Methods:
- Twenty nonasthmatic nonelite runners and 20 sedentary controls were studied.
- Subjects underwent single-dose methacholine challenges after prohibiting deep inspirations.
- Inspiratory vital capacity (IVC) was measured post-methacholine challenge.
Main Results:
- Runners showed significantly less decrease in IVC (10.5%) compared to controls (24.3%) after methacholine challenge (P=0.002).
- The reduced airway responsiveness in runners did not correlate with training volume or experience.
- Post-marathon testing in six runners indicated potentiated airway hyporesponsiveness.
Conclusions:
- Endurance training attenuates airway responsiveness in nonasthmatic runners.
- Post-exercise airway hyporesponsiveness may involve humoral factors like catecholamines or airway factors such as nitric oxide.
- These findings highlight exercise-induced modulation of airway tone.
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