Association between regular exercise and asthma control among adults: The population-based Northern Finnish Asthma Study.

Previously those with asthma were often advised to avoid strenuous exercise because of fear for exercise-induced asthmatic reactions, but recent findings suggest many beneficial effects on health related to exercise. We elaborated on the relation between regular exercise and asthma control among adults. This was a population-based cross-sectional Northern Finnish Asthma Study (NoFAS), in which altogether 1922 adult subjects 17-73 years old living in Northern Finland answered the NoFAS questionnaire. The determinant of interest was the total amount of regular exercise during leisure time, measured in hours per week and categorized into no, low (>0≤2h per week), medium (>2 ≤5h), high (>5≤10h) and very high (>10h) exercise categories. The outcome of interest was asthma control, which was assessed based on the Asthma Control Test (ACT). As statistical methods we applied analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Poisson regression. ACT score increased gradually, i.e. asthma control improved, with an increasing amount of exercise from no exercise (mean ACT = 19.4; difference from the reference: -1.57, 95% CI -2.12 to -1.01) to high exercise reference category (mean = 21.0), but was slightly lower (mean = 20.3; -0.64, 95% CI -1.27 to -0.02) in the very high exercise category. Such non-linear relation was present both in women and in men. In conclusion, we provide evidence that moderate to high regular exercise improves asthma control among adults with asthma. Advice about regular exercise should be included as an important part of asthma management for adults.

Regular exercise improves asthma control in adults: A randomized controlled trial.

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that a 24-week exercise intervention improves asthma control in adults. Adults with mild or moderate asthma were randomly assigned to either the exercise intervention group (IG) or the reference group (RG). Participants in IG received an individualized exercising program, including aerobic exercise at least three times a week for ≥30 minutes, muscle training, and stretching. The primary outcome was asthma control, measured by Asthma Control Test (ACT), asthma-related symptoms, and peak expiratory flow (PEF) variability. We estimated the risk (i.e. probability) of improvement in asthma control and the risk difference (RD) between IG and RG. Of 131 subjects (67 IG/64 RG) entered, 105 subjects (51/54) completed the trial (80%), and 89 (44/45) were analysed (68%). The ACT became better among 26 (62%) participants in IG and among 17 (39%) participants in RG. The effect of intervention on improving asthma control was 23% (RD = 0.23, 95% CI 0.027-0.438; P = 0.0320). The intervention also reduced shortness of breath by 30.1% (RD = 0.301, 95% CI 0.109-0.492; P = 0.003). The change in PEF variability was similar in both groups. Regular exercise improves asthma control measured by the ACT, while has little effect on PEF variability.