Asthma in athletes

Introduction Numerous recent studies have shown that the risk of developing asthma or exercise-induced asthma is increased in the athletic population, particularly in endurance-trained athletes at national and international level.

State of art According to the literature, this could be explained by both hyperventilation during exercise and increased airway exposure to inhaled allergens, pollutants and/or cold dry air. However this form of asthma seems to differ from classical asthma.

Perspectives In the future, the establishment of rigorous controls - via a detailed description of symptoms and documentation of objective measurements such as resting spirometry, bronchial hyperreactivity and reversibility - should allow early detection of respiratory problems in athletes and enable to provide an adequate treatment.

Conclusions Although asthma and exercise-induced asthma am particularly common among athletes, if appropriately detected and treated, these disorders should not constitute a limiting factor in exercise performance.