Level of physical activity and respiratory muscle force in healthy children

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to verify the relationship between the level of physical activity (LPA) and age with respiratory muscle strength (RMS) parameters of healthy children, as well as to compare this data between boys and girls. Healthy schoolchildren (6 to 12 years old) from the metropolitan area of Florianópolis-Santa Catarina/Brazil were the subjects of this study. Health was controlled by questionnaire, health record and spirometric parameters. Manovacuometry was performed to evaluate the RMS parameters and a questionnaire was applied to assess the LPA. In the sequence of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the Spearman’s correlation test was applied to verify the relationship between variables, and U-Mann-Whitney test to compare the RMS parameters between genders and LPA (active group-AG and inactive group-IG). The level of significance adopted was 5%. In total, 76 children (10.1±1.7 years) participated in this study, with mean maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) of −89.7±41.4cmH₂O and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) 86.6±22.6cmH₂O. The parameters of RMS and LPA level were not related. Values of MIP, MEP and predicted percentage of MEP were significantly related to age. AG showed a higher MIP value compared with IG. There was no difference between genders for LPA, there was only a difference for MEP in boys. RMS parameters and LPA were not related, but both were related to age. Active children had a higher MIP value compared with inactive children. Between genders, there was no difference in the LPA and boys showed higher MEP values.

Keywords
Respiratory Muscles; Physical Activity; Muscle Strength; Child