THE EFFECTS MAXIMAL AND SUB MAXIMAL AEROBIC EXERCISE ON THE BRONCHOSPASM INDICES IN NON ATHLETIC

Background: Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is a transient airway obstruction that occurs during and after the exercise. Exercise-induced bronchospasm is observed in healthy individuals as well as the asthmatic and allergic rhinitis patients. Research question: The study compared the effects of one session of submaximal aerobic exercise and a maximal one on the prevalence of exercise-induced bronchospasm in non-athletic students. Type of study: An experimental study, using human subjects, was designed. Methods: 20 non-athletic male students participated in two sessions of aerobic exercise. The prevalence of EIB was investigated among them. The criteria for assessing exercise-induced bronchospasm were ≥10% fall in FEV1, ≥15% fall in FEF25-75%, or ≥25% fall in PEFR. Results: The results revealed that the maximal exercise did not affect FEF25-75% and PEF, but it led to a meaningful reduction in FEV1. Contrarily, the submaximal exercise affected none of these indices. That is, in both protocols the same result was obtained for PEF and FEF25-75. Moreover, the prevalence of EIB was 15% in the submaximal exercise and 20% in the maximal one. Actually, this difference was significant. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that in contrast to the subjects who performed submaximal exercise, those who participated in the maximal protocol showed more changes in the pulmonary function indices and the prevalence of EIB was greater among them.