Can physical exercise assist in controlling and reducing the severity of exercise-induced bronchospasm in children and adolescents? A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze whether physical exercise can contribute to improving the control and severity of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) in children and adolescents.

Method: This is a systematic review that used PubMed/Medline and Scopus databases as a search source, and using descriptors indexed to DeCS/Mesh. The articles were analyzed in three stages in the selection process. Methodological quality was assessed using the TESTEX scale.

Result and discussion: A total of 5867 articles were filtered in the initial search; however, only eight of these were included after the eligibility criteria. All presented improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness. Only two followed the international EIB diagnostic guidelines. Of these, only one described a reduction in FEV1 and considered that this improvement may influence the EIB response in children and adolescent athletes with a non-asthmatic sample.

Conclusion: The studies analyzed in this review did not enable drawing a conclusion regarding the influence of physical exercise on EIB in asthmatics. The lack of clinical trials on EIB and physical exercise, as well as the difficulty in methodological standardization for EIB diagnosis evidence the lack of scientific knowledge in this area, serving as a stimulus for researchers to find more consolidated answers.

Keywords: asthma; diagnosis; exercise-induced bronchospasm; physical exercise.