Effects of aerobic exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation on quality of life in pediatric asthma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Pediatric asthma poses a significant global health burden, impacting the well-being and daily lives of affected children. Aerobic exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation emerges as a promising intervention to address the multifaceted challenges faced by pediatric asthma patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to comprehensively evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation on pulmonary function and quality of life in pediatric asthma patients.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving pediatric participants (5-18 years) were included. Aerobic exercise program-based pulmonary rehabilitation interventions were assessed for their impact on actual and percentage predicted values of lung volumes and flow rates such as forced vital capacity (FVC), maximum mid-expiratory flow (FEF25-75), peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, and on quality of life (QoL) measures. A systematic search of databases, hand-searching, and consultation with experts identified relevant studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines guided study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment.

Results: The systematic review included 20 studies with diverse exercise interventions and outcomes. The meta-analysis using fixed-effects model showed that there was a significant improvement in FVC (% predicted) [SMD= 0.30, 95 %CI: 0.13, 0.48] and FEF25-75 (% predicted) [SMD= 0.31, 95 %CI: 0.03, 0.58] in the experimental group compared with the control group. Furthermore, using a random-effects model involving 12 studies, significant increases in the QoL [SMD= 0.70, 95 %CI: 0.14, 1.26] were found in the exercise group. Due to inter-study heterogeneity, additional analyses were conducted. Publication bias analysis indicated robustness, with no significant asymmetry in funnel plots.

Conclusion: Aerobic exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation significantly enhances pulmonary function and quality of life in pediatric asthma patients. The findings, supported by improvements in FVC and FEF25-75, demonstrate the efficacy of these interventions. Quality of life measures also showed notable improvements. Despite inter-study heterogeneity, the results are robust, suggesting that aerobic exercise should be considered a valuable non-pharmacological strategy in managing pediatric asthma.