Cystic fibrosis and physical activity: an introduction

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal-recessive disease in the white population. Its main symptoms are: recurrent respiratory infections secondary to an abnormally thick bronchial mucous secretion, malnutrition caused by pancreatic insufficiency, and elevated sweat electrolytes. Progressive deterioration of lung functions is the most severe problem, and a premature death is usually due to respiratory failure. A comprehensive, very demanding, time-consuming, and expensive regimen directed to all manifestations of the disease has considerably ameliorated the outcome for these patients. Lately, several reports give evidence that physical activity is an essential part of the CF regimen. The observations reported in this supplement further support this concept. The implications for the individual CF patient and for the CF group are discussed.