Abstract
Background Apart from the structured form of exercise training, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are encouraged to participate in physical and sporting activities.
Aim To assess the exercise and sport habits of patients with CF and compare them with their healthy peers.
Methods 71 consecutive patients with median age 12 years old (range 6-18) (56% females) seen in the period 12/12 to 01/13 were enrolled. Information were collected through an ad-hoc questionnaire. Values as mean± SD if not reported differently.
Results Median FEV1 was 96.38 % pred. and median BMI percentile 51.9 (IQR 29.4). Analysis of the questionnaire revealed that 63 patients (88%) used to practice extra-curricular exercise-sport activity with the following breakdown: frequency of 2.33±1.15/week, 95.4± 53.5 min/session for 8.5±2.2 months during the previous year. The most frequent sports were swimming (34%), gymnastics (8%) and dance (8%). Minutes of extra-curricular physical activity were not associated with FEV1 (p=.98). Further analysis of the 11-17 years old subpopulation (n=39) showed that patients spent the same amount of time as reported for their healthy peers (86.6% versus 71.1% p=.14) (1).
Conclusions The majority of the CF patients enrolled in this study practise regular exercise and sport activity. Youngsters (11-17 years) seem to spend the same amount of time in exercise-sport activities as their healthy peers, a positive outcome considering the burden of the disease and possible concomitant functional limitations.
1. La Torre G, Masala D, De Vito, Langiano E, Capelli G, Ricciardi W, Extra-curricular physical activity and socioeconomic status in italian adolescents. BMC public health. 2006;6:22.
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