Five-Year Follow-up of Pulmonary Function and Peak Oxygen Uptake in 16-Year-Old Boys with Cystic Fibrosis, with Special Regard to the Influence of Regular Physical Exercise

Abstract

Eight Norwegian boys with cystic fibrosis (CF) 16 years of age were included in a 5-year follow-up study. They underwent pulmonary function and bicycle exercise tests 2-16 times each. The individual's habitudinal level of physical exercise was registered by interviews and training diaries to study whether it could be correlated to the developments in lung function, peak oxygen uptake (peak V̇O₂), and Shwachman score.

The boys were characterized by a large interindividual variation in both lung function, peak V̇O₂, and Shwachman score at the first test in the study. Four boys trained regularly 3-9 h weekly, while the four others had no regular exercise. Two of the latter, who also had the lowest Shwachman scores, died during the study. The other two in the non-training group deteriorated significantly in clinical scores, lung function variables, and peak V̇O₂ during the study period of 5 years. The four boys in the training group improved in lung function and peak V̇O₂ in accordance with or even better than expected in healthy adolescent boys during the same growth period.

Even though the material is small, and several factors might influence the results, the study indicates that regular physical exercise has beneficial long-term effects on lung function, physical fitness, and Shwachman score in adolescent CF boys.

Key words

cystic fibrosis - exercise - training - lung function - oxygen uptake