Overweight effect on spirometric parameters in adolescents undergoing exercise

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effects of overweight on spirometric parameters in adolescents who underwent bronchial provocation test for exercise. METHODS: We included 71 male adolescents. The diagnosis of asthma was done based on participants’ clinical history and on the International Study Questionnaire Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, and the diagnosis of obesity was based on body mass index above 95th percentile. The bronchospasm induced by exercise was assessed using the run-walk test on a treadmill for eight minutes. The decrease in forced expiratory volume in one second > or equal to 10% before exercise was considered positive, and to calculate the intensity in exercise-induced bronchospasm we measured the maximum percentage of forced expiratory volume in one second and above the curve area. Data analysis was carried out using the Mann-Whitney U test and Friedman test (ANOVA), followed by Wilcoxon test (p<0.05). In addition, we used Fisher’s exact test to analyze the exercise-induced bronchospasm frequency. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed among obese adolescents in exercise-induced bronchospasm frequency (p=0,013) and in relation to time required for recovery after exercise (p=0,007). CONCLUSION: Overweight can influence the increase in the exercise-induced bronchospasm frequency in non-asthmatic adolescents compared with eutrophic adolescents.