Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and childhood asthma: a European collaborative analysis




Eijkemans M; Mommers M; Harskamp-van Ginkel MW; Vrijkotte TGM; Ludvigsson J; Faresjö Å; Bergström A; Ekström S; Grote V; Koletzko B; Bønnelykke K; Eliasen AU; Bager P; Melbye M; Annesi-Maesano I; Baïz N; Barros H; Santos AC; Duijts L; Mensink-Bout SM; Flexeder C; Koletzko S; Schikowski T; Eggesbø MÅ; Lenters V; Fernández-Tardón G; Subiza-Perez M; Garcia-Aymerich J; López-Vicente M; Sunyer J; Torrent M; Ballester F; Kelleher C; Mehegan J; Berg AV; Herberth G; Standl M; Kuehni CE; Pedersen ESL; Jansen M; Gehring U; Boer JMA; Devereux G; Turner S; Peltola V; Lagström H; Inskip HM; Pike KC; Dalmeijer GW; Ent CKV; Thijs C

Publisher BMJ Publishing Group

2024

BMJ open respiratory research

BMJ open respiratory research

BMJ Open Respir Res

e001630

11

1

2052-4439

2052-4439

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2023-001630

https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/11/1/e001630

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/457681003



Objectives

To investigate the associations of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour in early childhood with asthma and reduced lung function in later childhood within a large collaborative study.

Design

Pooling of longitudinal data from collaborating birth cohorts using meta-analysis of separate cohort-specific estimates and analysis of individual participant data of all cohorts combined.

Setting

Children aged 0-18 years from 26 European birth cohorts.

Participants

136 071 individual children from 26 cohorts, with information on PA and/or sedentary behaviour in early childhood and asthma assessment in later childhood.

Main outcome measure

Questionnaire-based current asthma and lung function measured by spirometry (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity) at age 6-18 years.

Results

Questionnaire-based and accelerometry-based PA and sedentary behaviour at age 3-5 years was not associated with asthma at age 6-18 years (PA in hours/day adjusted OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.04; sedentary behaviour in hours/day adjusted OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.07). PA was not associated with lung function at any age. Analyses of sedentary behaviour and lung function showed inconsistent results.

Conclusions

Reduced PA and increased sedentary behaviour before 6 years of age were not associated with the presence of asthma later in childhood.


The authors received no specific funding for this article.


Last updated on 2025-27-01 at 20:03