The Effects of Exercise on Physiological and Psychological Parameters in an Asthmatic Population
Condition: Asthma, Bronchial
MeSH terms: Asthma
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Exercise has been shown to have extensive health benefits both in normally functioning adults
      as well as in adults with asthma. A program of regular aquatic exercise may have unique
      benefits in the asthmatic population because of the known aerobic capacity development
      typical of such programs, combined with the unique value of immersion-produced improvements
      in respiratory endurance and cardiac output. The purpose of this study is to explore the
      effects of a 12 week long aquatic endurance training program on several physiological and
      psychological parameters related to coronary heart disease and type II diabetes in an
      asthmatic population.
    

Detailed description: 
      The study will run from August 2008 to May 2009. Recruitment and screening of participants
      will occur from August to December 2008 for inclusion into the clinical trial. Prior to the
      clinical trial participants will have a one hour informational session to clearly present the
      study, obtain signed informed consent and set up fitness/blood appointments for data
      collection. Data collection will begin the first week of school in January. The 12-week
      exercise protocol will start the second week of school and continue through the middle of
      April. Research participants will not have any exercise session during spring break (March
      16-20). Final data collection will occur during the last two weeks of school. Pre-treatment
      and post-treatment data collection will include a fitness assessment and blood draw.
      Medication usage for asthma will be monitored on a weekly basis thoughout the clinical trial.
      Physical activity will also be monitored monthly.

      The screening session is a 30-minute session where research participants complete
      health/behavior questionnaires and a physiological measure of lung function. Information to
      be collected in the health/behavior questionnaires includes: demographic and
      behavioral/lifestyle variables (sex, race, age, smoking status, and medical history).

      The fitness assessment will be 60 minutes in length. At the beginning of the session
      participants will complete a survey to assess state anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory -
      Trait version Form X-1; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970). Heart rate variability will
      be measured through the ventral placement of 3 electrodes placed on the subject's torso. The
      areas will be prepped by swabbing with alcohol and lightly scrubbing to remove dead skin. The
      electrodes will be held in place with a sticky disc and a strip of athletic tape. Heart rate
      and resting blood pressure will also be taken. Body composition will be assessed using the
      BodPod system. Research participants will sit in an enclosed capsule (bod pod) for three
      tests lasting approximately 40 seconds each. Lung function will be assessed using a
      spirometer to measure the maximal volume of air exhaled over a period of time after a maximal
      inhalation. To assess cardiorespiratory fitness research participants will complete a VO2 Max
      test. Participants will ride a bicycle ergometer for approximately 15-20 minutes moving
      through stages (including a 3 minute warm-up) with progressively higher resistance levels
      until maximum tolerance. After termination there is a cool-down/recovery period of
      approximately 3-4 minutes.

      The blood draw session will take approximately 30 minutes and participants will be asked to
      fast (no food or drink) for 12 hours prior to blood draw. Upon check-in participants will
      complete a series of questionnaires assessing psychological variables stress (Perceived
      Stress Scale-14 item version Form X-1; Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983), depression
      (Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale; Radloff, 1977), and quality of life
      (Asthma Impact Survey; QualityMetric Health Outcomes Solutions, Lincoln, RI). The quality and
      quantity of sleep will also be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse,
      Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989). Once questionnnaires are completed, participants
      will have their blood drawn by a certified phlebotomist. Three days after the blood draw
      particpants will be contacted by phone and questioned about current health status.

      After the first week of pretreatment data collection, before the training sessions begin,
      research participants will undergo an explanation and training session to learn how to
      evaluate their own rate of perceived exertion (RPE). The water-based exercise programs are 3
      times a week for 12 weeks. The exercise sessions will begin with a 10-minute warm up and end
      with a 5-minute cool down period. The conditioning portion of the exercise program will be
      shorter in duration with lower intensities at the beginning of the 12 weeks. There will be a
      progression to higher intensities for longer periods of time throughout the 12 weeks using
      recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine. Exercise sessions will not
      exceed 50 minutes.
    

Intervention name(s): Exercise
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Exercise 3 times each week for a total of 12 weeks. Each session is 50 min. in length.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: aquatic exercise; asthma