Rong Cui, Bei He, Yun Ma, Yuzhu Wang, Mingwu Zhao
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China.
J Asthma. 2008 May;45(4):343-8. doi: 10.1080/02770900801956371.
Previous studies have demonstrated that exercise-induced asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness commonly occur in athletes. The present study investigates pulmonary function and cytokine levels in professional athletes to explore the impact of various sports on respiratory system function and to evaluate the possible role of systemic anaphylaxis.
Lung function was measured at rest in professional athletes without a history of smoking. Athletes were recruited from 10 different sports including swimming, water ballet, shooting, volleyball, softball, football, kickboxing, fencing, judo, and track and field. Measurements included forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), vital capacity (VC), peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal mid-expiratory flow curve (MMEF), and forced expiratory flow rate (FEF(25-75)%). In addition, the medical history of all athletes was recorded. Correlations between lung function measurements and the different sports, age, gender, height and weight were analyzed. In some athletes, serum was sampled to detect IL-4 and IL-10 concentrations. In these subjects, the correlation between pulmonary function and cytokine levels was analyzed.
A total of 147 professional athletes and 30 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Allergic rhinitis and asthma were detected only in swimmers with an incidence of 56.52% (13/23) and 8.70% (2/23), respectively. Lung function measures were significantly correlated with sport, age, gender, height, and weight. Ventilation functions (including FVC, FEV(1), FEV(1)/FVC, and MMV) in male athletes were superior to those in females, and the ventilation functions in swimmers were superior to those in others. However, the small airway functions (MMEF, FEF(50), FEF(75)) in swimmers and in track and field athletes were lower than predicted (swimmers: 72%, 70%, and 78%, respectively; track and field athletes: 79%, 75%, and 99%, respectively). Serum analyses for IL-4 and IL-10 revealed that IL-4 concentrations were higher in swimmers 69.34 +/- 22.4 pg/mL relative to non-swimmers (p = 0.000). By contrast IL-10 concentrations were lower in swimmers 34.94 +/- 9.71 pg/mL than that in the static group (44.69 +/- 16.32 pg/mL; p = 0.027). IL-4 levels were negatively correlated with FEV(1)%, FEF(25)%, FEF(50)%, and MMEF%. By contrast, IL-10 levels were not correlated with any of these measures.
The lung function measurements were correlated with sport, age, gender, height, and weight in the various athletes. The lung capacity of swimmers was greater than that of other athletes. Small airway dysfunction was observed in some swimmers and endurance athletes. We observed an association between systemic anaphylaxis and small airway dysfunction after prolonged regular training, particularly following swimming and endurance training.
以往研究表明，运动诱发的哮喘和支气管高反应性在运动员中普遍存在。本研究调查职业运动员的肺功能和细胞因子水平，以探讨不同运动对呼吸系统功能的影响，并评估全身过敏反应的可能作用。
对无吸烟史的职业运动员在静息状态下进行肺功能测量。运动员来自10项不同运动项目，包括游泳、花样游泳、射击、排球、垒球、足球、跆拳道、击剑、柔道和田径。测量指标包括用力肺活量（FVC）、一秒用力呼气容积（FEV₁）、肺活量（VC）、呼气峰值流速（PEF）、最大呼气中期流速曲线（MMEF）和用力呼气流量（FEF₂₅₋₇₅%）。此外，记录所有运动员的病史。分析肺功能测量值与不同运动项目、年龄、性别、身高和体重之间的相关性。在部分运动员中采集血清，检测白细胞介素-4（IL-4）和白细胞介素-10（IL-10）浓度。分析这些受试者肺功能与细胞因子水平之间的相关性。
本研究共纳入147名职业运动员和30名健康志愿者。仅在游泳运动员中检测到过敏性鼻炎和哮喘，发生率分别为56.52%（13/23）和8.70%（2/23）。肺功能指标与运动项目、年龄、性别、身高和体重显著相关。男性运动员的通气功能（包括FVC、FEV₁、FEV₁/FVC和MMV）优于女性，游泳运动员的通气功能优于其他运动员。然而，游泳运动员和田径运动员的小气道功能（MMEF、FEF₅₀、FEF₇₅）低于预期（游泳运动员分别为72%、70%和78%；田径运动员分别为79%、75%和99%）。血清IL-4和IL-10分析显示，游泳运动员的IL-4浓度（69.34±22.4 pg/mL）高于非游泳运动员（p = 0.000）。相比之下，游泳运动员的IL-10浓度（34.94±9.71 pg/mL）低于静息组（44.69±16.32 pg/mL；p = 0.027）。IL-4水平与FEV₁%、FEF₂₅%、FEF₅₀%和MMEF%呈负相关。相比之下，IL-10水平与这些指标均无相关性。
不同运动员的肺功能测量值与运动项目、年龄、性别、身高和体重相关。游泳运动员的肺活量大于其他运动员。部分游泳运动员和耐力运动员存在小气道功能障碍。我们观察到长期规律训练后，尤其是游泳和耐力训练后，全身过敏反应与小气道功能障碍之间存在关联。
