Longitudinal Follow-up of High School Athletes

Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy; Elite Athlete

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02432183

S53448

Details and patient eligibility

About

In this study the investigators will study the lung function and airway inflammation in elite athletes starting at the elite sport school (age: 12-13 year) and the change in lung function parameters and airway inflammation after 1 and 2 years at the elite sport school in comparison to age-matched controls (exercising at a recreational level, <4 hours/week).

Full description

A group of elite athletes (from the elite sport school in Leuven (n=35) in cooperation with 'Sportmedisch Advies Centrum' (SMAC) UZ Leuven) and the future team of the Flemish Swimming Federation (n=15) will be recruited at the start of their career (first level) as an elite athlete. A group of healthy subjects (n=20) will be recruited to serve as a control.

The investigators will compare lung function parameters and airway inflammation at the first visit in the autumn of 2011 and the second and third visit (one and two years later, respectively).

Lung function will be assessed by spirometry. Sputum will be induced with an aerosol of inhaled hypertonic saline in concentrations of 3%, 4% and 5% for 7 minutes generated by a De Vilbiss nebuliser (Ultra-Neb 2000 model 200HI) after pretreatment with 400 mg inhaled salbutamol. Sputum will be processed as previously described and the obtained cell suspensions will be used for differential cell counts and cytokine mRNA analysis. The supernatant will be used to measure cytokine and chemokine levels.

EIA diagnosis (visit 1,2 and 3) will be assessed by a diagnostic test for asthma (positive reversibility test with salbutamol) and a positive EIB-test. Eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation test will be used as a test for EIB (gold standard of IOC-MC). Dynamic lung function parameters will be assessed before and immediately after, 5' after, 10' after and 15' after eucapnic hyperventilation. Patients were asked to breath at 85% of the maximal ventilation (predefined as maximal voluntary volume) for 6 minutes through a mouthpiece connected to a reservoir. The reservoir is be filled with a gas mixture of 21% 02, 5% CO2 and 74% N2. The test is considered positive when a drop in FEV1 of >10% occurred at one of the time points after eucapnic hyperventilation.

Enrollment: 134 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 11 to 15 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Elite athletes from the elite sport school in Wilrijk and Leuven
• First grade of high school

Exclusion criteria

• Performing >4hours/week sports

Trial design

134 participants in 4 patient groups

Football players

Description:

Football players of the first grade of high school are recruited from the topsportschool in Leuven.

Basketball players

Description:

Basketball players of the first grade of high school are recruited from the topsportschool in Leuven.

Swimmers

Description:

Swimmers of the first grade of high school are recruited from the future team of the Flemish Swimming Federation

Control group

Description:

Age-matched controls are recruited (exercising at a recreational level, \>4 hours).