Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current status of research in this field, characterize potential mechanisms by which EIB may impact exercise performance and provide recommendations for future research. 2. METHODS A systematic evaluation of peer-reviewed literature from the PubMed/Medline and EBSCO databases was performed from January 1980 until May 2014 using the search parameter: [(‘exercise’ OR AND (‘asthma’ OR OR ‘athlete’) ‘bronchoconstriction’ ‘hypersensitivity’) AND (English and humans (Filter), loattrfull text (Filter), not review (Filter) ‘performance’] AND has abstract (Filter). This initial search returned 243 papers. Two authors independently reviewed the titles and abstracts of potential studies and subsequently screened full-text study reports for inclusion. After systematically reviewing the literature, 101 duplicate papers were removed, with 132 papers excluded for not including an exercise performance outcome measure (Figure 1). As research addressing the impact of EIB on exercise performance in elite athletes is relatively limited, individuals regularly participating in sport and/or physical activity were considered further. Included studies required subjects to have a previous physician diagnosis of asthma and/or objective evidence of EIB (i.e. fall in FEV1) following ≥10% bronchoprovocation testing. Consequently, ten papers met the initial criteria; six purported to evaluate exercise performance in physically active individuals with asthma and/or EIB [] while four assessed the effects of medication on performance in a comparable population []. These will be considered in more detail in the subsequent sections and form the basis of this review (Table 1). Furthermore, an appraisal of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) [] approach has been provided (Table 2).
Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current status of research in this field, characterize potential mechanisms by which EIB may impact exercise performance and provide recommendations for future research. 2. METHODS A systematic evaluation of peer-reviewed literature from the PubMed/Medline and EBSCO databases was performed from January 1980 until May 2014 using the search parameter: [(‘exercise’ OR ‘athlete’) AND (‘asthma’ OR ‘bronchoconstriction’ OR ‘hypersensitivity’) AND ‘performance’] (English and humans (Filter), loattrfull text (Filter), not review (Filter) AND has abstract (Filter). This initial search returned 243 papers. Two authors independently reviewed the titles and abstracts of potential studies and subsequently screened full-text study reports for inclusion. After systematically reviewing the literature, 101 duplicate papers were removed, with 132 papers excluded for not including an exercise performance outcome measure (Figure 1). As research addressing the impact of EIB on exercise performance in elite athletes is relatively limited, individuals regularly participating in sport and/or physical activity were considered further. Included studies required subjects to have a previous physician diagnosis of asthma and/or objective evidence of EIB (i.e. ≥10% fall in FEV1) following bronchoprovocation testing. Consequently, ten papers met the initial criteria; six purported to evaluate exercise performance in physically active individuals with asthma and/or EIB [] while four assessed the effects of medication on performance in a comparable population []. These will be considered in more detail in the subsequent sections and form the basis of this review (Table 1). Furthermore, an appraisal of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) [] approach has been provided (Table 2).
SportsMedicine_Performance_R2.docx