Characteristics of individuals with moderate to severe asthma who better respond to aerobic training: a cluster analysis

Objective: To determine the characteristics of individuals with asthma who are responsive to aerobic training. Methods: This post hoc analysis of pooled data from previous randomized controlled trials involved 101 individuals with moderate to severe asthma who underwent aerobic training. Participants underwent a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test and completed the Asthma Control Questionnaire and the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire before and after a 24-session aerobic training program. Better and worse responders to aerobic training were identified by cluster analysis. Results: Two clusters were identified according to the improvement in peak VO2 after aerobic training (better and worse responders). Characteristics of the better responder group were being older, being female, having higher BMI, and having higher cardiac reserve at baseline when compared with the worse responder group. Also, better responders had worse clinical control, worse quality of life, and lower physical capacity at baseline. After training, worse responders, in comparison with better responders, showed half the improvement in Delta peak VO2 ( 7.4% vs. 13.6%; 95% CI, -12.1 to - 0.92%; p < 0.05) and worse asthma control. A weak, negative, but significant association (r = -0.35; p < 0.05) was observed between clinical control and aerobic fitness only in the better responder group. Both groups showed significant improvement in quality of life. Conclusions: Obese individuals with worse exercise capacity, clinical control, and quality of life showed improvement with aerobic training. Moreover, worse responders also improved with training, but to a lesser extent.

Automated summary

This study aimed to determine the characteristics of individuals with asthma who respond well to aerobic training. Participants were categorized into better and worse responders based on their improvement in peak VO2 after training. The better responder group was found to be older, female, with higher BMI and higher cardiac reserve at baseline. They also had worse clinical control, quality of life, and lower physical capacity at baseline. After training, worse responders showed less improvement in peak VO2 and worse asthma control compared to better responders.