| Popis: |
Background: Our systematic review and meta-analysis showed insufficient evidence to assess the effects of exercise on asthma control (Heikkinen et al. Eur J Epidemiol 2012). We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that regular exercise improves asthma control. Methods: The study included 131 asthmatics 16-65 years old. The intervention was a 24-week individualized exercising program (aerobic exercise, muscle training, stretching) for at least 3 times a week over 30 minutes. The primary outcome measure was asthma control based on self-assessed impact of asthma, self-reported respiratory symptoms, and PEF measurements. We applied The Asthma Control Test (ACT) as an overall measure of asthma control (range 5-25, optimal 25). Results: The final study population included 67 subjects in the intervention group and 64 in the reference group. A total of 40 (60%) subjects in the intervention group and 42 (66%) subjects in the reference group were followed for 6 months. In the intervention group, ACT became better among 63% of participants and worse among 21%, whereas among 16% no change was observed, giving a net improvement of 42%. In the reference group, ACT of 37% of participants became better, 26% became worse and 37% experienced no change. This gives a net improvement of 11%. The effect of intervention on ACT was 26% (95%CI: 5.3%-47.9%, P=0.019). The net effect, calculated taking into account subjects who got both better and worse, was 32% (14.2%-50.5%, P=0.001). Conclusions: Regular exercise improves asthma control measured by broad subjective indicators, including reduction in use of rescue medication, but has little effect on PEF variability. Support: GSK (ISS 115923) and FILHA |
