Table 1. Demographic characteristics of included studies.
| Sources | Study design | PA type | Participants sample | Proportion of female (%) | Age (years), mean ± SD/range | Whether supervision | Therapeutic course/length of follow-up | Region | Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA | CG | PA | CG | ||||||||
| Cochrane, 1990 | RCT | Varied aerobic exercises, including cycling, jogging, and “aerobics” | 18 | 18 | 61.10 | 28±7 | 28±8 | Some sessions | 3 months | UK | FEV1, FEV1/pred, VO2max |
| Farid, 2005 | RCT | A course of aerobic exercise | 18 | 18 | 55.60 | 27 | 29 | Unclear | 8 weeks | Iran | FEV1, FVC/pred, FEV1/FVC |
| Gonalves, 2008 | RCT | Treadmill training, education and breathing exercises | 10 | 10 | 65.00 | 34.6 (21.0−47.0) | 34.6 (21.0−47.0) | Yes | 12 weeks | Brazil | HRQoL, HRQoL (4 sub-items), ASFD, FeNO |
| Mendes, 2010 | RCT | Unspecified aerobic exercise training, breathing exercises and educational programme | 50 | 51 | 73.30 | 39 (22−47.9) | 39.5 (23.5−47.0) | Yes | 3 months | Brazil | HRQoL, HRQoL (4 sub-items), ASFD, FEV1, FEV1/pred, FVC, FVC/pred, FEV1/FVC |
| Mendes, 2011 | RCT | Unspecified aerobic exercise training, breathing exercises and educational programme | 27 | 24 | 41.20 | 37.9 (25.7−47.3) | 36.0 (22.0−47.5) | Yes | 3 months | Brazil | FEV1, FEV1/pred, FVC, FVC/pred, FEV1/FVC, FeNO, VO2max |
| Boyd, 2012 | RCT | Walking | 6 | 8 | 92.90 | 53 [38−62] | 54 [33−78] | No | 12 weeks | UK | ACQ, FEV1/pred |
| Scott, 2013 | RCT | Gym and intermittent personal training sessions and a diet intervention | 13 | 15 | 53.60 | 33.9±11.5 | 44.7±14.7 | Once a week | 12 weeks | Australian | AQLQ, ACQ, FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FeNO |
| França-Pinto, 2015 | RCT | Treadmill training and breathing exercises | 22 | 21 | 48.80 | 40±11 | 44±99 | Yes | 12 weeks | Brazil | AQLQ, AQLQ (4 sub-items), ASFD, ACQ, FEV1, FEV1/pred, FeNO, VO2max |
| Toennesen, 2018 | RCT | Indoor cycling | 29 | 34 | 76.20 | 43.7±13.9 | 38.2±12.7 | Yes | 8 weeks | Denmark | AQLQ, ACQ, FEV1pred, FVC/pred, FeNO, VO2max |
| Freitas, 2017 | RCT | Unspecified aerobic exercise training and hypocaloric diet | 26 | 25 | 98.00 | 45.9±7.7 | 48.5±9.6 | No | 3 months | Brazil | AQLQ (4 sub-items), ACQ, FEV1, FVC, FeNO |
| Refaat, 2015 | RCT | Exercise training | 38 | 30 | 45.60 | 35.8±1.7 | 38±5.3 | Yes | 3 months | Kuwait | AQLQ, AQLQ (4 sub-items), FEV1, FVC |
| Turner, 2011 | RCT | Exercise training | 19 | 15 | 55.90 | 65.3±10.8 | 71.0±9.7 | Yes | 3 months | Australia | AQLQ (4 sub-items), ACQ |
| Shaw, 2011 | RCT | Aerobic exercise | 22 | 22 | 63.60 | 21.95±3.84 | 21.90±3.89 | Yes | 8 weeks | South Africa | FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC |
| Coelho, 2018 | RCT | Physical activity + usual care | 20 | 17 | 86.50 | 45±19 | 47±14 | No | 3 months | Brazil | AQLQ, ACQ, FEV1/pred, FVC/pred, FEV1/FVC |
| Freitas, 2018 | RCT | A treadmill interspersed with either bike or elliptical machine workouts | 26 | 26 | 96.20 | 45.9±7.7 | 48.5±9.6 | The exercise program included two sessions of supervised aerobic and resistance exercises | 3 months | Brazil | ASFD |
| Ma, 2015 | RCT | Moderate-intensity physical activity | 165 | 165 | 70.60 | 47.5±12.6 | 47.7±12.1 | Ongoing supervision | 12 months | US | AQLQ, AQLQ (4 sub-items), ACQ, FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC |
| Meyer, 2015 | RCT | Walking, endurance and circuit training, cardiopulmonary exercise | 13 | 8 | 61.90 | 54±11 | 59±9 | Once weekly supervised sessions | 12 months | Germany | AQLQ, AQLQ (4 sub-items) |
| Shaw, 2010 | RCT | Weekly supervised aerobic exercise | 22 | 22 | 63.60 | 21.95±3.87 | 21.90±3.89 | three times weekly supervised | 8 weeks | Republic of South Africa | FEV1, FVC, VO2max |
| Beckett, 2001 | LS | MPA | 4,547 | 54.90 | 18−30 | Unclear | 10 years | US | Incidence | ||
| Benet, 2011 | LS | Recreational physical activity habits (walking, cycling, gardening, home do-it-yourself activities, sports, and climbing stairs) | 51,080 | Women | 40−65 | Unclear | 9 years | France | Incidence | ||
| Huovinen, 2003 | LS | A series of PA | 9,671 | 54.00 | 25−52 | Unclear | 9 years | Finland | Incidence | ||
| Lucke, 2007 | LS | A series of PA | 1,9021 | Women | 18−75 | Unclear | 5–7 years | Australia | Incidence | ||
ACQ, Asthma Control Questionnaire; AQLQ, Asthma-related quality of life questionnaire; AQLQ (4 sub-items), AQLQ-Activity limitation domain, AQLQ-Symptoms domain, AQLQ-Emotional function domain, AQLQ-Environmental stimuli domain; ASFD, asthma symptom-free days; CG, control group; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in one second (L); FEV1/pred, FEV1 as a percentage of the predicted value; FeNO, fractional exhaled nitric oxide; FVC, forced vital capacity (L); FVC/pred, FVC as a percentage of the predicted value; HRQoL, health related quality of life; HRQoL (4 sub-items), HRQoL-Physical limitation, HRQoL-Symptom frequency, HRQoL-Socioeconomic, HRQoL-Psychosocial; LS, longitudinal study; MPA, moderate PA; PA, physical activity; RCT, randomized controlled trial; UK, the United Kingdom; US, the United States of America; VO2max, maximal oxygen uptake.