Weidner 2003.
| Methods | Study design: quasi‐randomised controlled trial Location, number of centres: School of Physical Education at Ball State University Country: USA Study period: 7 days Methods of analysis: "volunteers were interviewed about their physical activity levels and completed a 13‐item symptom severity checklist as part of the initial screening process. A physical examination by a doctor and screening included a health history questionnaire about acute and chronic diseases, asthma, bronchitis, chronic colds, allergies, pregnancy, immune deficiency, medications, smoking and physical activity level. Volunteers were sedentary (2 or fewer days a week of recreational exercise for fewer than 30 minutes a day for the preceding 3 months). Participants had no symptoms of lower respiratory tract illness, were afebrile (< 100°F) and apparently healthy according to the criteria of the American College of Sports Medicine. All participants agreed to refrain from self treating their colds with over the counter medicines. Each participant signed an informed consent form approved by the institutional review board. Participants who completed the study received some remuneration. All participants reported to the laboratory every 12 hours (0700 and 1900) for 7 consecutive days, beginning on the evening of the day on which they were selected into the study. All completed the 13‐item symptom severity checklist at each reporting period. They all also completed an activity log during each evening reporting period to monitor their physical activity levels. After the seventh day of the study, participants reported to the laboratory once a day until they were asymptomatic" Statistical analysis: "symptom severity scores from the cold symptom checklist were summed. 2 statistical analyses were performed. A 2 group (EX and NEX) by 2 factor repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the mean symptom questionnaire values of study participants for mornings and evenings (AM/PM) of 6 time periods (DAY) after collection of the baseline symptom data (2 x 2 x 6). The analyses included data obtained for only days 2 to 7 of the study because some study participants were unable to participate on the first day after collection of the baseline data. An independent groups t test was used to compare the number of days from baseline until the study participants were symptom free. The analysis of variance was performed on scores obtained by: (a) subtracting baseline symptom values from values obtained during the study; (b) ranking the resulting difference values; and (c) obtaining normalised z scores for the ranks. A set of polynomial contrasts was specified in the SPSS MANOVA program (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, Illinois, USA) for the day factor. Statistical tests were conducted for the linear relation component of elapsed time from baseline scores and for the relations of the other components combined with the scores. The latter statistical test identified if systematic variation among the score means existed beyond that identified by the linear component ‐ that is, deviation from linearity. The statistical power for evaluating the relation of the day factor with the scores and for the difference between the EX and NEX groups over the days (P value < 0.05) was 0.89 for Cohen's large effect size and 0.45 for his medium effect size (x). A 1 way analysis of variance for differences between the measures on the physical activity logs for the EX and NEX groups was also completed. A P < 0.05 was considered significant in this investigation" |
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| Participants | Recruitment means: newspaper advertisements Target participants: students that had acquired a URTI within the preceding 3 to 4 days (typical peak of illness) N randomised: 22 adult students N completed: 22 adults completed the study: 11 (intervention group) and 11 (control group) Gender M = 7: intervention 4, control 3 F = 15: intervention 7, control 8 Age: 19 to 29 years old Baseline details: age, gender, physical activity profile, symptom checklist, health history, immune deficiency, medications |
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| Interventions | Setting of intervention: Ball State University School of Physical Education laboratory Description of intervention: "by the second day of the study, participants in the EX group began the supervised exercise training sessions. They were scheduled for either a morning or an evening exercise session and were expected to exercise at the same time for all 5 days of the study. Exercise sessions lasted 30 minutes at 70% of target heart rate with the mode of exercise chosen by the participant from the following list of choices: the Air‐Dyne bicycle (Schwinn Bicycle Co, Chicago, Illinois, USA); the Cybex MET 100 cycle (Cybex Metabolic Systems, Ronkonkoma, New York, USA); walking or jogging on a treadmill (Trotter, Millis, Massachusetts) or on an indoor track; or stair climbing on the Stepmill (StairMaster Sports and Medical Products, Kirkland, Washington, USA). All participants performed the same mode for each training session. Heart rate was monitored continuously via Polar heart rate telemetry units" Delivered by: supervised by the researchers Intervention period: 7 days Co‐interventions: none |
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| Outcomes | Symptom severity/duration Follow‐up period: until the end of symptoms |
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| Notes | Study funding: not stated | |
| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | High risk | The participants were alternately assigned to either group. |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | High risk | The allocation to group was predictable. |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes | High risk | The participants could not be blinded due to the characteristics of the intervention. |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | High risk | Outcomes measured by participant self‐report. |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | Low risk | There were no losses to follow‐up. |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | High risk | The study protocol is not available. The outcomes reported in the methods were reported incompletely in the results; no data were provided for each outcome, just a sentence: "no differences between the groups for...". |
| Other bias | Low risk | The study seems to be free of other sources of bias. |
Albs: salivary albumin ANCOVA: analysis of covariance ANOVA: analysis of variance ARI: acute respiratory infection BFI: big five inventory BMI: body mass index C3: complement 3 C4: complement 4 CBC: complete blood counts CG: control group CTSA: Clinical and Translational Science Award EDTA: Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid EG: exercise group EKG: electrocardiogram ELISA: enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay ESES: Enriched Soul Empowering Space Eta: eta‐squared values from multifactor ANOVA EX: exercise FSH: follicle‐stimulating hormone hsCRP: high sensitivity C‐reactive protein HR: heart rate HRV: Human Rhinovirus IP‐10: Inducible Protein 10 IgA: immunoglobulin A IgG: immunoglobulin G IgM: immunoglobulin M IL‐6: interleukin‐6 IL‐8: interleukin‐8 IPAQ: International Physical Activity Questionnaire IQR: Interquartile range IVAS: Upper airway tract infections LOT: Life Orientation Test MAAS: Mindful Attention Awareness Scale MBSR: mindfulness‐based stress reduction MET: metabolic equivalent of task MSES: Mindfulness‐Based Self Efficacy Scale NEX: non‐exercise NIH: National Institutes of Health NK: natural killer PANAS: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule PR: positive relationships PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index PSS‐10: perceived stress scale RER: respiratory exchange ratio ROC: Receiver Operating Characteristic RPE: Rated Perceived Exertion RI: Respiratory Infection SD: standard deviation SE: standard error SF‐12: 12‐item Short Form Health Survey SIgA: salivary immunoglobulin A SNI: server name indication SPS: Social perceived support SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences STAI: State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory URI: upper respiratory infection URTI: upper respiratory tract infection VE: pulmonary ventilation VO₂: oxygen uptake