Relationship between exercise capacity and quality of life in adolescents with asthma.

Objective: To determine whether the quality of life of adolescents with asthma correlates with parameters obtained prior to and after the six-minute step test (6MST); spirometric results after the 6MST; and level of physical activity.

Methods: Nineteen adolescents with asthma, ranging from 11-15 years of age, were assessed with spirometry, 6MST, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), and the 10-point Borg category-ratio (CR10) scale.

Results: Sensation of dyspnea correlated negatively with the total PAQLQ score (r = -0.

Infants with Down syndrome: percentage and age for acquisition of gross motor skills.

The literature is bereft of information about the age at which infants with Down syndrome (DS) acquire motor skills and the percentage of infants that do so by the age of 12 months. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the difference in age, in relation to typical infants, at which motor skills were acquired and the percentage of infants with DS that acquire them in the first year of life. Infants with DS (N=20) and typical infants (N=25), both aged between 3 and 12 months, were evaluated monthly using the AIMS.

Description of the motor development of 3-12 month old infants with Down syndrome: the influence of the postural body position.

The purpose of the present study was to describe the rate of motor development in infants with Down syndrome in the age range of 3-12 months and identify the difficulties both in performance and acquiring motor skills in prone, supine, sitting and standing positions. Nineteen infants with Down syndrome and 25 healthy full term typical infants were assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) monthly from 3 to 12 months of age. The infants with Down syndrome achieved significant later the level of motor performance of the typical infants.

Assessment of exercise capacity among asthmatic and healthy adolescents.

Objectives: To compare the physical performance and responses obtained in the six-minute walking test (6MWT) and the six-minute step test (6MST) between asthmatic and healthy adolescents; and to investigate the relationship between the responses obtained in the tests and the body mass index (BMI), physical activity level and spirometric variables.

Methods: Nineteen asthmatic adolescents (AG) and 19 healthy adolescents (HG) of both sexes, aged between 11 and 15 years, were assessed by means of spirometry, the 6MWT and the 6MST, and their physical activity levels were quantified using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).

Results: The AG had poorer physical performance, lower heart rate (HR) and greater lower-limb (LL) fatigue in the 6MST.

Relationship of BODE Index to functional tests in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: To determine if there is a correlation between the BODE Index and variables assessed during the Activities of Daily Living assessment, performance on lower limber tests, and peripheral muscle impairment of the upper limb in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Materials And Methods: Ten men (aged 58 to 80 years old) with moderate to very severe obstruction were evaluated and classified by the BODE Index. They were evaluated by pulmonary ventilation (VE), oxygen consumption (VO2), and carbonic gas production (VCO2) on the ADL assessment; Distance Walking (DW) in the Six Minute Walking Test (6MWT) and the Six Minute Walking Test on Treadmill (6MWTT); number of repetitions in the Sit-to-Stand Test; and the Hand Grip Strength Test.