Sport-specific influences on respiratory patterns in elite athletes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in lung function among sports that are of a similar nature and to determine which anthropometric/demographic characteristics correlate with lung volumes and flows. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving elite male athletes (N = 150; mean age, 21 ± 4 years) engaging in one of four different sports, classified according to the type and intensity of exercise involved. All athletes underwent full anthropometric assessment and pulmonary function testing (spirometry). RESULTS: Across all age groups and sport types, the elite athletes showed spirometric values that were significantly higher than the reference values. We found that the values for FVC, FEV1, vital capacity, and maximal voluntary ventilation were higher in water polo players than in players of the other sports evaluated (p < 0.001). In addition, PEF was significantly higher in basketball players than in handball players (p < 0.001). Most anthropometric/demographic parameters correlated significantly with the spirometric parameters evaluated. We found that BMI correlated positively with all of the spirometric parameters evaluated (p < 0.001), the strongest of those correlations being between BMI and maximal voluntary ventilation (r = 0.46; p < 0.001). Conversely, the percentage of body fat correlated negatively with all of the spirometric parameters evaluated, correlating most significantly with FEV1 (r = −0.386; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the type of sport played has a significant impact on the physiological adaptation of the respiratory system. That knowledge is particularly important when athletes present with respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, cough, and wheezing. Because sports medicine physicians use predicted (reference) values for spirometric parameters, the risk that the severity of restrictive disease or airway obstruction will be underestimated might be greater for athletes.

Spirometry reference values in the Brazilian population

“…It is well known that physical activity can increase lung volume, especially the practice of water polo, basketball, rowing (e.g., canoeing), handball, and soccer (25,26). The equations developed in this study were generated from a sedentary population.…”

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“…The results showed that the elite group obtained the highest performance level with respect to VO 2 Max compared to the non-athlete group.The present study corroborates this finding, considering that the football athletes showed better performance when compared to sedentary people. This may be explained by the fact that elite athletes have a higherlevelof cardiorespiratory capacity due to the different demands of sports and theexercise intensity, which requirephysiological adaptation of the respiratory system 13 .…”

Evaluation of spirometric parameters and maximum oxygen consumption in athletes and non-athletes

“…However, according to recent literature, the respiratory volumes can vary considerably depending on the type, intensity, duration and frequency of sports activities [15,16]. Durmić et al, showed that the type of sport has a significant impact on the adaptation of the respiratory system [17]. Athletes who are engaged in sports where the endurance is dominant (rowing and canoeing, swimming, long-distance running and marathon, cycling, triathlon) have higher values of respiratory functions compared to athletes who train sports where the development of explosive strength is most important [18].…”