Background:

Asthma patients show lower exercise tolerance.

Objective:

Assessment of functional capacity in children with asthma.

Methods:

Girls and boys from 6 to 17 years old were included in two groups: asthmatic patients and healthy subjects. PSPQ was applied and vital signs, peak expiratory flow and Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale were measured at the beginning and the end of 6MWD.

Results:

Participants included 58 subjects, including 32 asthmatic patients, and 55.2 % male subjects. Mean age: 10.6 years ± 3.1. Asthmatic group: mean distance covered in meters 456.04 ± 54.05, meters covered by gender 456.31 ± 48.73 male and 455.74 ± 61.29 female (p = 0.28). Control group: the mean was 468.28 ± 54.52 meters, meters covered by gender 465.98 ± 58.04 male, 471.44 ± 51.95 female (p = 0.35). The difference between asthmatic group and control group was 12.24 meters in favor of control group (p = 0.378). There was no association between body mass index (BMI) and distance covered (p = 0.53), but a Pearson correlation p = -0.445. In the male gender, CF was positively associated with self-perception in CAF variables: physical condition, physical attractiveness, strength (p = 0.04) and physical self-concept in general (p = 0.02).

Conclusions:

There was no significant difference in the distance covered between the two groups. The main impact factor was the body mass index with an inverse relation to the distance. Males had better physical self-perception, which is positively associated with CF.