Does Aerobic Training on a Treadmill Improve Symptomatic Control and Quality of Life in Patients With Asthma?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Does aerobic training on a treadmill improve symptomatic control and quality of life in patients with asthma?” STUDY DESIGN: This is a systematic review of three randomized control trials (RCTs) published between 2013 and 2016 in peer-reviewed journals. DATA SOURCES: Three randomized control trials (RCTs) were found using PubMed. All articles were published in peer reviewed journals and selected based on their relevance to the topic and evaluation of outcomes that mattered to patients. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Symptomatic control was measured by recording occurrence of symptoms in a diary and using the 7-point scaling system Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ). Quality of life was measured by using the 7-point scaling systems Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). RESULTS: Franca-Pinto et al. found that aerobic exercise on a treadmill significantly improves quality of life compared to a yoga breathing exercise (p=0.034). However, the increase in number of asthma-free days was not significant compared to the control group (p=0.987). Andrade et al. found that aerobic exercise on a treadmill significantly improves quality of life and increases the number of asthma-free days compared to usual physical activity (p=0.031). Gomes et al. found that aerobic exercise on a treadmill significantly improves symptomatic control (p=0.01). Similar results were found using an active video game (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: All three studies support aerobic exercise on a treadmill as an effective adjunct therapy to improve clinical control and quality of life for patients with clinically stable asthma. Future studies can focus on the effect of exercise on the frequency of side effects experienced from medications. Future researchers can develop a regimen that reduces the number of patients that are lost to follow up