Abstract
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the lungs. Patients with asthma have obstructed and narrow lung airways which results in increased mucous in the airway wall and causes the airway to become more rigid, interfering with air flow. As the airways become obstructed, it becomes harder to breathe and the lungs fill with air. This causes chest tightness and shortness of breath. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an exercise programme and vitamin D supplementation (1,000 IU/day) on performance and respiratory indicators in patients with asthma. The subjects who participated in this randomized blind trial comprised 32 women with asthma. After clinical examination, the subjects’ lung volume was measured using spirometry and their activity tolerance was evaluated using the six-minute walk test (6-MWT). They were then divided into four groups, as follows: 8 weeks of aerobic exercise (AT group), aerobic exercise and vitamin D supplementation (AT+S group), vitamin D supplementation (S group), and the control group with no participation in the exercise programme and no vitamin D supplementation. The lung function parameters and activity tolerance were analysed before and at the end of the 8 weeks of aerobic exercise. The changes in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) before and after the study period were +8.38, +9, −10 and −12.63 l in the AT+S, AT, S and control groups, respectively, and in forced vital capacity (FVC) were +15.13, +14.38, −6 and −13.25 l in the AT+S, AT, S and control groups, respectively. The changes in FEV1/FVC were +13.25%, +6.75%, −3%, −4.88% in the AT+S, AT, S and control groups, respectively, and the changes in the 6-MWT results were +336.37 m, +325.25 m, −17.25 m, −14.62 m in the AT+S, AT, S and control groups, respectively. There were significant differences at the end of the study period (p<0.05) in mean FEV1, FVC and 6-MWT between the AT and AT+S groups. However, FEV1/FVC was increased significantly (p<0.05) in the AT+S group. The findings of this study suggest that aerobic exercise and vitamin D supplementation for 8 weeks may improve pulmonary function and activity tolerance in asthmatic patients and could be considered as part of a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in asthmatic patients.
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Razavi, M.Z., Nazarali, P. & Hanachi, P. The effect of an exercise programme and consumption of vitamin D on performance and respiratory indicators in patients with asthma. Sport Sci Health 6, 89 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-011-0102-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-011-0102-5