Asthma from childhood to adulthood--a follow-up study of 20 subjects with special reference to work capacity and pulmonary gas exchange.
Twenty men with a mean age of 24.9 years, who had moderate to severe asthma during childhood, underwent a follow-up examination of their physical fitness, working capacity, maximal oxygen uptake, and pulmonary function during and after physical work. Comparison was made with similar data obtained at the age of 10.9 years. The young men had a normal physical working capacity with a normal oxygen uptake of 3.65 +/- 0.56 L/min. The respiratory parameters and the arterial blood gases during work demonstrated values as in healthy individuals, and no differences between groups with mild and severe asthma during childhood were observed. The alveolar-arterial oxygen difference was normalized, compared to that at 10.9 years. Only a few subjects still had exercise-induced asthma with a postexercise fall of greater than 20% in FEV1 compared to childhood. The mean FEV1 values for the whole group after exercise were lowered and had not returned to the baseline level even after 20 minutes. Oxygen pressure (tension), arterial, measured during 20 minutes after work, demonstrated continuously decreasing values. This might reflect a persisting disturbance in the pulmonary ventilation perfusion relationship caused by the underlying asthma disease.
Friberg
S
S
Sachs' Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Bevegård
S
S
Graff-Lonnevig
V
V
Hallbäck
I
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D002648:Child; D005080:Exercise Test; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011659:Pulmonary Gas Exchange; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation