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Effects of physical activity on lung function and quality of life in asthmatic children: An updated systematic review
Zenghui Jing1, Xingzhi Wang1, Panpan Zhang1
1Department of Pediatrics, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Insights
Physical activity (PA) significantly improves lung function, including forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75), and enhances quality of life in children with asthma. However, evidence for improvement in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and airway inflammation remains limited.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Exercise Physiology
- Respiratory Medicine
Background:
- Growing recognition of physical activity (PA) benefits for children with asthma.
- Need for updated evidence on PA's effects due to refined study designs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize recent evidence on the effects of PA in asthmatic children.
- To update the understanding of PA's impact on asthma management.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials from the last 10 years.
- Systematic search across PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library.
- Independent data extraction and bias assessment by two reviewers.
Main Results:
- PA significantly improved forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75).
- Quality of life, assessed by the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, showed significant improvement.
- No significant differences were observed in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) or fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO).
Conclusions:
- PA is beneficial for improving FVC, FEF25-75, and quality of life in asthmatic children.
- Insufficient evidence currently supports PA's improvement of FEV1 and airway inflammation in this population.
Background And Objectives:
The benefits of physical activity (PA) for asthmatic children were increasingly recognized, and as the design of studies on PA and asthma has become more refined in recent years, the latest evidence needed to be updated. We performed this meta-analysis to synthesize the evidence available from the last 10 years to update the effects of PA in asthmatic children.
Methods:
A systematic search was conducted in three databases, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Randomized controlled trials were included, and two reviewers independently conducted the inclusion screening, data extraction, and bias assessment.
Results:
A total of 9 studies were included in this review after 3,919 articles screened. PA significantly improved the forced vital capacity (FVC) (MD 7.62; 95% CI: 3.46 to 11.78; p < 0.001), and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity (FEF25-75) (MD 10.39; 95% CI: 2.96 to 17.82; p = 0.006) in lung function. There was no significant difference in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (MD 3.17; 95% CI: -2.82 to 9.15; p = 0.30) and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) (MD -1.74; 95% CI: -11.36 to 7.88; p = 0.72). Also, PA significantly improved the quality of life as assessed by the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (all items p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
This review suggested that PA could improve FVC, FEF25-75, and quality of life in asthmatic children, but there was insufficient evidence of improvement in FEV1 and airway inflammation.
Systematic Review Registration:
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42022338984.
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