Water-based exercise for adults with asthma

• Published in: Cochrane database of systematic reviews 2014-07, Vol.2014 (7), p.CD010456
• Main Authors: Grande, Antonio Jose, Silva, Valter, Andriolo, Brenda N G, Riera, Rachel, Parra, Sergio A, Peccin, Maria S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anti-Asthmatic Agents - therapeutic use; Asthma - therapy; Asthma, chronic ‐ non‐pharmacotherapy; Female; Gymnastics; Humans; Lungs & airways; Male; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Resistance Training - methods; Swimming; Water
• ISSN: 1469-493X; 1469-493X
• DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010456.pub2

Asthma is a common condition characterised by airway inflammation and airway narrowing, which can result in intermittent symptoms of wheezing, coughing and chest tightness, possibly limiting activities of daily life. Water-based exercise is believed to offer benefits for people with asthma through pollen-free air, humidity and effects of exercise on physical function. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of water-based exercise for adults with asthma. We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register of Trials (CAGR), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), PsycINFO, the Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Information Database (LILACS), the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE) and Google Scholar on 13 May 2014. We handsearched ongoing clinical trial registers and meeting abstracts of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the British Thoracic Society (BTS). We included all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of adults with asthma comparing a water-based exercise group versus one or more of the following groups: usual care, land-based exercise, non-exercise. Two review authors (AJG, VS) independently extracted data from the primary studies using a standard form developed for this purpose, which includes methods, participants, interventions and outcomes. We contacted trial authors to request additional data. Data were input by one review author and were double-checked by a second review author. In this systematic review, we provide a narrative synthesis of available evidence from three small studies including 136 adult participants. The studies were at high risk of bias. No meta-analysis was possible because of methodological and interventional heterogeneity between included studies. The primary outcomes of quality of life and exacerbations leading to use of steroids were not reported by these studies. For exacerbations leading to health centre/hospital visits, uncertainty was wide because a very small number of events was reported (in a single study). Secondary outcomes symptoms, lung function, changes in medication and adverse effects, where available, described for each included study. The overall quality of the studies was very low, and no clear differences were n