Survey of physical activity level of asthmatic school-age children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the physical activity level and sedentary time of school-age children with bronchial asthma (asthma).Methods:Asthmatic children aged 6 to 17 years old who used Chinese Children′s Asthma Action Plan on smartphones from March to May 2021 were included in the study.International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was employed to assess exercise level, and Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) was employed to evaluate sedentary behavior.The Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT), and the Asthma Control Test (ACT) were employed to assess asthma control status.Clinical information was collected, including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), respiratory symptoms after exercise and adherence to medication.Results:A total of 265 valid questionnaires were collected, with a median age of 9.4 (7.5, 11.6) years old.The rate of ACT/C-ACT score ≥ 20 was 74.0% (196 cases). There were 52 cases with high, 110 cases with medium and 103 cases with low activity levels.There was no significant correlation between activity level and gender, BMI, regular drug use or educational level of parents ( P>0.05). The number of children with sedentary time ≥2 hours was 204 on weekdays and 233 on weekends, respectively, and the number on weekends was significantly higher (87.9% vs.77.0%, χ2=10.967, P=0.001). There were 160 cases (60.4%) with respiratory symptoms after exercise, with the most common symptoms including cough(72 cases), wheezing(53 cases), dyspnea(43 cases), chest pain(16 cases) and chest tightness(15 cases). Despite the symptoms, 79.6%(211 cases)of all children had the subjective intention to participate in physical activities.The incidence of post-exercise symptoms in children with ACT/C-ACT scores ≥20 was significantly lower than that in children with ACT/C-ACT≤19 (37.8% vs.72.5%, χ2=10.967, P<0.001). Conclusions:Most school-age children with bronchial asthma had low to moderate levels of physical activity, and the sedentary time is long.Children with poorly controlled asthma are more likely to develop respiratory symptoms after exercise.Standardized and individualized exercise prescriptions should be further formulated to guide children with asthma to carry out reaso-nable physical exercise.