Analysis of motor proficiency and physical capacity of asthmatic children and adolescents: Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood, and can reduce tolerance to physical activity, pulmonary limitations and systemic repercussions, but there is a lack of information on motor proficiency in asthmatic children and adolescents, which is one of the most important factors for the performance of physical activity at this stage of development. It is important to identify developmental coordination disorders and their relation to physical capacity in this population of young asthmatics. Objectives: To evaluate the motor proficiency and its relationship with the physical capacity of asthmatic children and adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional study with children and adolescents 4-16 years of age of both sexes, evaluated for motor proficiency by Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2), as well as the physical capacity by the test Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT). Results: A total of 14 asthmatic subjects were included in the Asthma Group (AG) aged 8 ± 2.9 years, and 13 healthy subjects in the Control Group (CG) aged 10.3 ± 4.5 years. There was a change in the Aiming and Cathing (AC) domain of MABC-2 in which CG presented a median of 10 and AG the median of 7, in the AC percentile in AG was 17th, showing clinical difference compared to CG with 50th percentile. In relation to ISWT’s performance the children of the AG walked on average 60% less than predicted. There was a positive correlation between the ISWT x AC percentile in AG r = 0.57 and p = 0.03. Conclusion: Children and adolescents with asthma presented significant clinical alteration of developmental coordination disorder, correlated with the low performance in ISWT.