Prevalence and characteristics of asthma in the aquatic disciplines

Abstract

Asthma/AHR in the endurance aquatic disciplines is common at the elite level and has a varied geographic distribution. Findings from this study demonstrate the need for development of aquatic discipline-specific prevention, screening, and treatment regimens.

Consensus statement on the methodology of injury and illness surveillance in FINA (aquatic sports)

“…Evident by the high prevalence of overuse injuries21 and asthma22 in aquatic athletes, the utilisation of a prospective out-of-competition surveillance system is also recommended. Assessment of risk factors should be included in the injury and illness surveillance projects to facilitate the development of preventive interventions.…”

“…For example, in the FINA study on the prevalence of asthma, the aquatic endurance disciplines of swimming, open water swimming and synchronised swimming were grouped together and compared with the non-endurance discipline of diving 22. Other groupings of disciplines include (1) aesthetic (synchronised swimming, diving, high diving) versus non-aesthetic disciplines (water polo, swimming and open water swimming), and (2) timed events (swimming, open water swimming) versus non-timed event (synchronised swimming, diving and water polo).…”

“…Given the finding that a high percentage of elite aquatic athletes of all disciplines train and compete with injury,21 and the high prevalence of asthma in swimming,22 the FINA consensus group recommends the prospective monitoring of athletes’ health in all aquatic disciplines throughout the year. Prospective injury and illness surveillance during the in-competition and out-of-competition period may be conducted by the reporting of symptoms/complaints by the athlete, or by the recording of medical conditions by a clinician at predefined regular intervals at least on a weekly basis to minimise recall bias.…”

“…However, FINA studies showed that 37.5% of all injuries during the World Championship were caused by overuse,20 and injuries incurred in the out-of-competition period were still present during competition 21. Also, the high prevalence of asthma in the elite swimmer reported by Mountjoy et al 22 is not captured in the IOC protocol which only records new-onset illnesses or exacerbations of existing illnesses 22…”

Swimming in H2O: two parts heart + one part obsession

“…The findings were alarming: one-third of all athletes reported at least one physical symptom in the 4-week study period, and 70% of these were still symptomatic at the initiation of the championships, illustrating that athletes train and compete while injured 5. FINA also conducted a study comparing the high prevalence of asthma among the aquatic disciplines, other Olympic sports and the general population 6. In collaboration with the IOC and the International Triathlon Union (ITU), FINA investigated the safety parameters in both extremes of warm7 and cold water temperatures (in press).…”