Gender differences in objectively assessed physical activity in asthmatic and non‐asthmatic children

Abstract

Unlike boys, girls with active asthma appear to be less active than their healthy peers, and this gender difference might explain the inconsistent evidence from previous reports on physical activity levels in asthmatic children. Further studies are needed to confirm the gender interaction in the childhood asthma-physical activity relation and the implications on current guidelines for physical exercise prescriptions in asthmatic children.

Asthma and Rhinitis Are Associated with Less Objectively-Measured Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity, but Similar Sport Participation, in Adolescent German Boys: GINIplus and LISAplus Cohorts

“…Like others, [6] , [16] we found sex-specific associations between asthma, rhinitis and PA. However, while Groth et al (2016) [6] and the current study found that asthma was associated with PA only in boys, Yiallouros et al (2015)[16] found an effect only in girls, while Sugimoto et al[5] found that rhinitis was associated with lower PA only in boys.…”

“…However, while Groth et al (2016) [6] and the current study found that asthma was associated with PA only in boys, Yiallouros et al (2015)[16] found an effect only in girls, while Sugimoto et al[5] found that rhinitis was associated with lower PA only in boys. This heterogeneity may be explained by the known gender differences in prevalence, symptoms, and progression of asthma [39–42] and/or cultural differences in acceptability of sport [43, 44] especially for girls or children with asthma.…”

“…This heterogeneity may be explained by the known gender differences in prevalence, symptoms, and progression of asthma [39–42] and/or cultural differences in acceptability of sport [43, 44] especially for girls or children with asthma. [2] Furthermore, asthma diagnosis and treatment may be more available in our own population of Germans than in either the low-income Americans studied in Groth et al (2016) [6] and Firrincieli et al (2005)[13], or the Cypriots studied in Yiallouros et al (2015)[16]. Lastly, our population was 2 years older than those in Groth et al (2016)[6] and 7 years older than those in Yiallouros et al (2015)[16] and age is known to impact on both activity pattern[45] and allergy development.…”

“…Some studies fail to find associations between allergy and PA in one sex only [5, 16] [17] and others find no association at all [2]. Protocols are not standardized among studies [2] so different approaches to assessing PA and defining allergies may account for some heterogeneity[2] as may issues of sample population and confounding.…”

Designing a physical activity intervention for children with asthma: a qualitative study of the views of healthcare professionals, parents and children with asthma

“…6 7 Systematic reviews have suggested that children with asthma engage in less physical activity than children who do not have asthma, and these differences may be more marked for girls than boys. [8][9][10] In addition, a recent systematic review of epidemiological studies has shown that children with low levels of physical activity are at up to 35% increased risk of new onset asthma and/or wheezing. 11 The same review also reported that more than 50% of the cross-sectional studies reported positive associations between low physical activity and childhood asthma.…”