BMC Pulmonary Medicine (Feb 2009)

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and atopy in Tunisian athletes

  • Feki Youssef,
  • Chtara Moktar,
  • Tabka Zouhair,
  • Mossa Abbas,
  • Chamari Karim,
  • Sallaoui Ridha,
  • Amri Mohamed

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2466-9-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
p. 8

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Background This study is a cross sectional analysis, aiming to evaluate if atopy is as a risk factor for exercise induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) among Tunisian athletes. Methods Atopy was defined by a skin prick test result and EIB was defined as a decrease of at least 15% in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after 8-min running at 80–85% HRmaxTheo. The study population was composed of 326 athletes (age: 20.8 ± 2.7 yrs – mean ± SD; 138 women and 188 men) of whom 107 were elite athletes. Results Atopy was found in 26.9% (88/326) of the athletes. Post exercise spirometry revealed the presence of EIB in 9.8% of the athletes including 13% of the elite athletes. Frequency of atopy in athletes with EIB was significantly higher than in athletes without EIB [62.5% vs 23.1%, respectively]. Conclusion This study showed that atopic Tunisian athletes presented a higher risk of developing exercise induced bronchoconstriction than non-atopic athletes.