MAXIMUM EXERCISE CAPACITY, LUNG FUNCTION AND BODY COMPOSITION IN
CHILDREN WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the oxygen uptake at peak exercise (VO2 peak) and
to correlate with lung volume and capacity and body composition of
children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF). Methodology:
Cross-sectional study with CF patients treated at the pediatric
pulmonology outpatient clinic of a public hospital in Porto Alegre, aged
≥ 7 years up to 18 years. Study assessments included: cardiopulmonary
stress testing, plethysmography, and body composition assessment using
body bioimpedance. Results: Thirty patients were studied, with a mean
peak VO2 of 1.511 ± 0.539 liters in the population studied. Correlation
analysis showed a strong correlation between peak VO2 in liters and lean
mass (r = 0.77 and p <0.001), and strong and inverse
correlation with fat percentage (r = - 0.77 and p <0.001). ),
a strong correlation with forced vital capacity (FVC) in liters (r =
0.72 and p <0.001) and forced expiratory volume in the first
second (FEV1) also in liters (r = 0.69 and p <0.001). We
observed a strong correlation between load (W) and lean mass and during
CPET (r = 0.64 and p <0.001), and inversely with fat
percentage (r = -0.64 and p <0.001). This study showed that
patients with higher lean body composition have a better performance on
cardiopulmonary testing, contributing to greater exercise tolerance.