Effect of physical training on health-related quality of life in patients with moderate and severe asthma

BackgroundBronchial asthma is a major healthcare problem worldwide. Patients with asthma may show less tolerance to exercise due to worsening symptoms during exercise that may result in reduced physical fitness. Few studies have been conducted on the effects of physical exercise in patients with asthma, particularly on HRQOL as a primary outcome. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of physical training on HRQOL in adult patients with moderate and severe bronchial asthma.Patients and methodsA total of 68 patients with moderate and severe asthma were included according to Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) criteria. All patients were randomized into a physical training group; (N = 38), while another group did not join exercise training (control group; N = 30). Asthma quality of life questionnaire (AQLQ) was measured before, immediately following and 3 months after the intervention period for all included patients. Pulmonary function tests were also done before and immediately after the interventional period.ResultsThere were significant improvements in all baseline AQLQ domains, except for environmental exposure domain, immediately following training intervention in the training group and when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). The improvements in AQLQ domains were still evident 3 months following training and were significantly greater than any changes observed in the control group. For FVC and FEV1 values, there was significant difference between the pre- and post-training values in the training group and also, when compared with those of the control group.ConclusionsPhysical training can improve HRQOL and pulmonary function in patients with moderate and severe bronchial asthma. Exercise prescription should be integrated as an essential treatment of asthmatic patients. Further studies to compare different combinations of exercise techniques are needed to confirm our findings.