Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics
| Characteristic | |
|---|---|
| Participants (n) | 13 |
| Sex (M:F) | 0:13 |
| Age (years) | 21±7 |
| Sports | |
| Cycling | 3 |
| Cross-country skiing | 4 |
| Long track speed skating | 2 |
| Triathlon | 1 |
| Synchronised swimming | 1 |
| Taekwondo | 1 |
| Swimming | 1 |
| BMI (kg/m2)* | 22±1 |
| Training (h/week)* | 12±6 |
| Asthma medication | |
| β2-agonists (n (%)) | 5 (38) |
| Inhaled corticosteroids (n (%)) | 4 (31) |
| Diagnosis of rhinitis (n (%)) | 2 (15) |
| Rhinitis medication | |
| Antihistaminic (n (%)) | 0 (0) |
| Nasal steroids (n (%)) | 1 (8) |
| Diagnosis of GERD (n (%)) | 1 (8) |
| PPI (n (%)) | 1 (8) |
| Atopy | |
| Animals (n (%)) | 4 (31) |
| Tree pollens (n (%)) | 5 (38) |
| Grass pollens (n (%)) | 4 (31) |
| House dust mites (n (%)) | 5 (38) |
| FEV1 (L)* | 3.5±0.4 |
| FEV1 (% predicted)* | 103±13 |
| FVC (L)* | 4.4±0.6 |
| FVC (% predicted)* | 116±17 |
| FEV1/FVC (%)* | 81±7 |
| PC20≤16 mg/mL (n (%)) | 8 (62) |
| PC20 (mg/mL) | 6.0 (0.3–16.0) |
| EVH positive (ie, EIB) (n (%)) | 2 (15) |
| Asthma (n(%)) | 9 (69) |
| Maximal fall in FEV1 after EVH (%) | 6.8 (1.5–15.0) |
| Minute ventilation during EVH (lpm) | 83 (59–100) |
| Number of times the FEV1† | 24 (16–30) |
*Data are presented as means±SD.
†The target minute ventilation is 30 times the baseline FEV1.
Airway hyper-responsiveness to methacholine (PC20≤16 mg/mL) and/or maximal fall in FEV1 after EVH≥10%; BMI, body mass index; EIB, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction; EVH, eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; maximal fall in FEV1 after EVH, expressed as mean(range); PC20, concentration of inhaled methacholine causing a 20% decrease in the forced expiratory volume in 1 s, expressed as geometric mean (range); GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease; PPI, proton pump inhibitors.