Cardiorespiratory fitness and sports activities in children and adolescents with solitary functioning kidney.
BACKGROUND
An increasing number of children with chronic disease require a complete medical examination to be able to practice physical activity. Particularly children with solitary functioning kidney (SFK) need an accurate functional evaluation to perform sports activities safely. The aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of regular physical activity on the cardiorespiratory function of children with solitary functioning kidney.


METHODS
Twenty-nine patients with congenital SFK, mean age 13.9 ± 5.0 years, and 36 controls (C), mean age 13.8 ± 3.7 years, underwent a cardiorespiratory assessment with spirometry and maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing. All subjects were divided in two groups: sedentary (S) and trained (T) patients, by means of a standardized questionnaire about their weekly physical activity.


RESULTS
We found that mean values of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and exercise time (ET) were higher in T subjects than in S subjects. Particularly SFK-T presented mean values of VO2max similar to C-T and significantly higher than C-S (SFK-T: 44.7 ± 6.3 vs C-S: 37.8 ± 3.7 ml/min/kg; p < 0.0008). We also found significantly higher mean values of ET (minutes) in minutes in SFK-T than C-S subjects (SFK-T: 12.9 ± 1.6 vs C-S: 10.8 ± 2.5 min; p <0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study showed that regular moderate/high level of physical activity improve aerobic capacity (VO2max) and exercise tolerance in congenital SFK patients without increasing the risks for cardiovascular accidents and accordingly sports activities should be strongly encouraged in SFK patients to maximize health benefits.
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy. giancarlo.tancredi@uniroma1.it.
Giancarlo
G
Tancredi
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Caterina
C
Lambiase
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Alessandra
A
Favoriti
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Francesca
F
Ricupito
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Sara
S
Paoli
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Marzia
M
Duse
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Giovanna
G
De Castro
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Anna Maria
AM
Zicari
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Giovanna
G
Vitaliti
General Pediatrics Operative Unit, Vittorio-Emanuele University Hospital, University of Catania, via S. Sofia, Catania, 78-95123, Italy.
Raffaele
R
Falsaperla
Pediatric Department, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Viale Regina Margherita 324, Rome, 00161, Italy.
Riccardo
R
Lubrano
D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007668:Kidney / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D013147:Spirometry; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014564:Urogenital Abnormalities / Q000503:physiopathology*
Cardiorespiratory fitness; Lung function tests; Physical activity; Solitary functioning kidney