Longitudinal Follow-up of High School Athletes

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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).

Detailed Description
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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.

Official Title
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Longitudinal Follow-up of Exercise-induced Bronchoconstriction and Airway Inflammation in High School Athletes

Conditions
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Elite Athlete, Healthy

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Elite athletes from the elite sport school in Wilrijk and Leuven First grade of high school Exclusion Criteria: Performing >4hours/week sports

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 11 Years
Maximum Age: 15 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Football players<br>Football players of the first grade of high school are recruited from the topsportschool in Leuven. | |
| Basketball players<br>Basketball players of the first grade of high school are recruited from the topsportschool in Leuven. | |
| Swimmers<br>Swimmers of the first grade of high school are recruited from the future team of the Flemish Swimming Federation | |
| Control group<br>Age-matched controls are recruited (exercising at a recreational level, >4 hours). | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maximal Fall in Forced Expiratory Volume in One-second (FEV1) After Eucapnic Voluntary Hyperventilation (EVH) Test | percentage change in FEV1 after EHV test compared to baseline EVH test will be performed as described in Feasibility to apply eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation in young elite athletes. Van der Eycken S et al, Respir Med. 2016 Feb;111:91-3. | change from baseline compared to 15 minutes after EVH test | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of Participants With Allergies Determined by Positive Skin Prick Test |  | baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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individual