Comparison of Dynamic Respiratory Muscle Strength and Endurance, Physical Activity Level and Physical Fitness in Asthmatic Children and Their Healthy Peers

Asthma prevalence is high in childhood and adolescence and the disease imposes an economic burden. In studies, patients with peak inspiratory flow (PIF) showed variability in severe obstruction and a dependence on respiratory muscle strength. PIF appears to be lower in children and adolescents with asthma than in those without asthma and correlates positively with age, height, weight and respiratory muscle strength. Also, although physical activity and fitness are believed to be important in lung health, the relationship between lung function and physical fitness is unclear. Physical activity improves exercise capacity and outcomes in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but there is insufficient evidence that it improves lung function. Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence has been associated with increases in lung volumes throughout early adulthood. These relationships may weaken with age and may not be significant in older age groups. s-Index (a special calculation) and PIF describe dynamic lung volumes. There are very few studies in the literature that dynamically evaluate respiratory muscles and functions compared to their healthy counterparts and interpret these tests together with physical evaluations. In addition, reference values for the s-index and PIF in children with asthma are uncertain due to the small number of studies. The results of this study will contribute to future studies in determining the test reference values.The investigators think that the results of the study will contribute to future studies in determining the test reference values.