Pulmonary Function, Respiratory Muscle Strength, Lung Age, Balance, And Quality Of Life In Paralympic Athletes

NCT07749222 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Paralympic_Athlete
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 24
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Paralympic athletes actively participate in many sports despite their physical limitations and continue to develop both individually and athletically. Assessing the physical and functional capacities of these athletes is important in terms of performance and health. This study aimed to examine the relationships between respiratory function, respiratory muscle strength, lung age, balance, and quality of life in Paralympic athletes. Additionally, it was evaluated whether there were significant differences in these parameters according to disability type and gender. The study included 24 Paralympic athletes from the disciplines of athletics, swimming, archery, and wheelchair basketball. Participants had various orthopeadic and neurological disability types, including cerebral palsy, lower extremity amputation, spinal cord injuries (C5-T6 and T7 and below), hypotonia, poliomyelitis, spina bifida, brachial plexus injury, and short stature. Respiratory function was assessed using forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), FEV₁/FVC ratio, peak expiratory flow (PEF), and forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75%); respiratory muscle strength was assessed using maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP). Lung age was calculated based on FEV₁ values, balance was measured using the Modified Functional Reach Test, and quality of life was determined using the Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire. Significant correlations were found between parameters. Based on the study results, supporting respiratory muscle strength in Paralympic athletes may be an important goal in rehabilitation and training programs to support respiratory function, lung age, and quality of life parameters.

Conditions

Balance; Quality of Life; Pulmonary Function

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (L)

  Pulmonary function (Forced expiratory volume in the first second FEV1)) was evaluated with a portable spirometer, COSMED Pony FX® (COSMED S.r.l., Italy) and measurements were performed according to European Respiratory Society standards. Considering that dizziness may occur during forced expiration, measurements were made while individuals were in a sitting position. While participants were sitting in a comfortable position in a chair with a backrest, nose clip was attached and they were asked to bite the mouth teeth and close their lips in a way that did not allow air to escape. The tests were performed at least 3 times by the participants and care was taken to ensure that the expiration time was at least 6 seconds and the plateau time was 1 second. Due to the device software that records all three data, it saved the average of the two best data and processed it as a value.

  4 months

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Forced vital capacity (FVC) (L)

  4 months

• FEV1 / FVC (%)

  4 months

• Peak flow rate (PEF) (L/s)

  4 months

• Flow rate 25-75% of forced expiratory volume (FEF 25-75%) (L/s)

  4 months

• Maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) (L)

  4 months

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Paralympic athletes who has been playing their sports minimum 1 year participated in the study.

You may qualify if:

• Being between 18-50 years of age
• Being registered with any of the sports federations in Turkey and being a licensed paralympic athlete for at least 1 year (
• Having a lower extremity or upper extremity amputation or having permanent injuries as determined by the International Paralympic Committee

You may not qualify if:

• Lack of consent to participate in the study.
• Having undergone surgery within the last 6 months.
• Having had a respiratory tract infection within the three weeks prior to the evaluations
• FEV1/FVC \< 0.7

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Halic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

İstanbul Okçular Vakfı

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Pinheiro L, Verhagen E, Ocarino J, Fagher K, Ahmed OH, Dalton K, Mann DL, Weiler R, Akinyi Okoth C, Blauwet CA, Lexell J, Derman W, Webborn N, Silva A, Resende R. Periodic health evaluation in Para athletes: a position statement based on expert consensus. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2024 Oct 9;10(4):e001946. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-001946. eCollection 2024.

  PMID: 39411023 BACKGROUND

• Morris JF, Temple W. Spirometric "lung age" estimation for motivating smoking cessation. Prev Med. 1985 Sep;14(5):655-62. doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(85)90085-4.

  PMID: 4070195 BACKGROUND

• Freitas JP, Costa R, Barranco LC, Reis K, Lopes AJ, Mainenti MRM, Dos Santos Vigario P. Effect of inspiratory muscle training on pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, aerobic performance, sports skills, and quality of life in wheelchair rugby athletes. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2024 Oct;40:360-365. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.04.049. Epub 2024 Apr 20.

  PMID: 39593611 BACKGROUND

• Fischer G, Tarperi C, George K, Ardigo LP. An exploratory study of respiratory muscle endurance training in high lesion level paraplegic handbike athletes. Clin J Sport Med. 2014 Jan;24(1):69-75. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000003.

  PMID: 24326928 BACKGROUND

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Proffessor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 26, 2026
• First Posted: August 6, 2026
• Study Start: December 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 31, 2025
• Study Completion: June 30, 2025
• Last Updated: August 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

TU (1)