Acute respiratory infections hamper training and competition in cross-country skiers, especially in those with asthma

Acute respiratory infections (ARinf) are one of the leading causes that prevent athletes from training and competing. The aim of this study was to investigate the burden of ARinfs during one season among cross-country skiers. All Finnish cross-country skiers enrolled in the largest national competit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of circumpolar health Vol. 82; no. 1; p. 2223359
Main Authors: Mäki-Heikkilä, Rikhard, Karjalainen, Jussi, Parkkari, Jari, Huhtala, Heini, Valtonen, Maarit, Lehtimäki, Lauri
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.12.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Taylor & Francis Group
Subjects:
Asthma
Cross country skiing
endurance sports
Rapid Communication
Short Communication
winter sports
endurance sports
winter sports
ISSN:2242-3982, 1239-9736, 2242-3982
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Acute respiratory infections (ARinf) are one of the leading causes that prevent athletes from training and competing. The aim of this study was to investigate the burden of ARinfs during one season among cross-country skiers. All Finnish cross-country skiers enrolled in the largest national competitions in winter 2019 (n = 1282) were sent a postal questionnaire. A higher proportion of skiers with than without asthma had to refrain from competitions because of ARinf (76.9% vs. 62.2%, p = 0.011) but there was no significant difference in refraining from training (91.2% vs. 83.8%, p = 0.084). In skiers with asthma, the median duration of a single ARinf episode was longer (5.0 days, IQR 3.8-6.8 vs. 4.0 days, IQR 3.0-6.7, p  = 0.017), and they had more days of absence because of ARinf throughout the season (median 15 days (IQR 8-28) vs. 10 days (IQR 6-18), p  = 0.006) in comparison to non-asthmatics. However, many of the skiers either trained (54.4%) or competed (22.5%) during an ARinf.
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ISSN:2242-3982
1239-9736
2242-3982
DOI:10.1080/22423982.2023.2223359