INCIDENCE OF EXERCISE-INDUCED ASTHMA IN ADOLESCENT ATHLETES UNDER DIFFERENT TRAINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS MARIA P. SIDIROPOULOU, 1 DIMITRIOS G. KOKARIDAS, 2 PARASKEVI F. GIAGAZOGLOU, 3 MICHALIS I. KARADONAS, 1 AND ELENI G. FOTIADOU 1 1 Laboratory of Developmental Medicine and Special Education, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; 2 Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Trikala, University of Thessaly, Greece; and 3 Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Serres, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece ABSTRACT Sidiropoulou, MP, Kokaridas, DG, Giagazoglou, PF, Karadonas, MI, and Fotiadou, EG. Incidence of exercise-induced asthma in adoles- cent athletes under different training and environmental conditions. J Strength Cond Res 26(6): 1644–1650, 2012—Different sports and environmental conditions are known to influence exercise- induced asthma (EIA). The aim of this study was to establish if there were differences in the incidence of exercise-induced broncho- spasm between athletes in different sports, which take place under different environmental conditions such as open places, closed courses, and swimming pools with similar exercise intensity (football, basketball, water polo) using the free running test. The study included 90 adolescents (3 groups of 30) aged 14–18 years recruited from academies in northern Greece. All the participants were initially subjected to (a) a clinical examination and cardiorespiratory assessment by a physician and (b) free running test of a 6-minute duration and measurement with a micro- spirometer of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ). Only the participants who had measured a decrease in FEV 1 $ 10% were reevaluated with the microspirometer during a training session. The examination of all the participants during the free running test showed that 22 athletes, that is, 9, 8, and 5 of football, basketball, and water polo athletes, respectively, demonstrated an FEV 1 $ 10 drop. Reevaluation of the 22 participants during training showed that 5 out 9 (55%) football athletes, 4 out of 8 basketball athletes (50%), and none of the 5 athletes of the water polo team displayed a drop of FEV 1 $ 10%. Despite the absence of any significant statistical differences between the 3 groups, the analysis of variances did show a trend of a lower incidence of EIA in the water polo athletes. It was found that a football or basketball game can induce EIA in young athletes but to a lesser degree than the free running test can induce. The water polo can be a safer sport even for participants with a medical history of asthma or allergies. KEY WORDS free running test, sports, activity, bronchospasm, exercise intensity INTRODUCTION A frequent triggering factor of asthmatic episodes even in the case of individuals who exercise regularly is the stimulus of exercise itself or its sudden interruption (16). In fact, many individ- uals, especially children, exhibit bronchial reaction to exercise without any history of asthma or other symptoms, with exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) as the sole manifestation (23). Prompt diagnosis of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is of great importance in the case of children and young adults exercising in school and sport settings, because the occurrence of dyspnea, shortness of breath, and chest tightness symptoms during exercise is usually attributed to poor levels of physical condition instead of the true underlying cause, which in turn results in the lack of treatment and problem maintenance (6,16,19). In fact, studies have shown that certain environmental conditions related to temperature and humidity conditions according to sport can affect EIA occurrence (8,9,11,13,30). On the other hand, although physical activity can generate EIA incidence, it also constitutes one of the most effective ways of confronting such conditions because improvement of physical condition through exercise helps each individual to tolerate stimulus of exercise and increase his or her defense against breathing difficulty symptoms (16,30). Diagnosis of EIA is achieved by surveying the history and conducting test trials, and this includes either the free running test or treadmill and cycle ergometer use in laboratory settings. In general, the free running test is considered as a reliable and validated test for the diagnosis and evaluation of Address correspondence to Maria P. Sidiropoulou, sidiropo@phed. auth.gr. 26(6)/1644–1650 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Ó 2012 National Strength and Conditioning Association 1644 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research the TM Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.