title: Comparative prevalence of asthma in different groups of athletes: a survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The type of air predominantly inhaled during training seems to play an important role in the development of airway hyperresponsiveness in athletes; however, this factor has not been evaluated for asthma.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the prevalence of self-reported and/or physician-diagnosed asthma among four groups of athletes categorized according to the type of air predominantly inhaled during training: cold air (n=176), dry air (n=384), humid air (n=95), and mixed dry and humid air (n=43).
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-administrated questionnaires were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred seven (15.3%) of the 698 athletes reported having asthma; of these 107 athletes, 92 had physician-diagnosed asthma. No significant differences were found for the prevalence of asthma: 15.9% (cold air), 15.4% (dry air), 12.6% (humid air) and 18.6% (mixed dry and humid air), respectively (P>0.05). Furthermore, no significant differences were observed among the groups for the prevalence of confirmed atopy, cold/flu or respiratory infections (all P>0.05), except for the prevalence of hay fever, which was significantly lower among athletes of the dry air group (P=0.04). Athletes having a first-degree relative with asthma did not have a higher prevalence of asthma than those who did not (P>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of asthma was not significantly different among the four groups of athletes and it was not associated with a family history of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche de l'Hôpital Laval, Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie, Université Laval, Quebec City.
authors.forename: Jean-Bruno
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Langdeau
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Turcotte
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thibault
authors.forename: Louis-Philippe
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Boulet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003080:Cold Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013177:Sports; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires