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Completed

NCT Number: NCT07749222

Pulmonary Function, Respiratory Muscle Strength, Lung Age, Balance, And Quality Of Life In Paralympic Athletes

Paralympic athletes actively participate in many sports despite their physical limitations and continue to develop both individually and athletically. Assessing the physical and functional capacities of these athletes is important in terms of performance and health. This study aimed to examine the relationships between respiratory function, respiratory muscle strength, lung age, balance, and quality of life in Paralympic athletes. Additionally, it was evaluated whether there were significant differences in these parameters according to disability type and gender.

The study included 24 Paralympic athletes from the disciplines of athletics, swimming, archery, and wheelchair basketball. Participants had various orthopeadic and neurological disability types, including cerebral palsy, lower extremity amputation, spinal cord injuries (C5-T6 and T7 and below), hypotonia, poliomyelitis, spina bifida, brachial plexus injury, and short stature. Respiratory function was assessed using forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), FEV₁/FVC ratio, peak expiratory flow (PEF), and forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75%); respiratory muscle strength was assessed using maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP). Lung age was calculated based on FEV₁ values, balance was measured using the Modified Functional Reach Test, and quality of life was determined using the Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire. Significant correlations were found between parameters. Based on the study results, supporting respiratory muscle strength in Paralympic athletes may be an important goal in rehabilitation and training programs to support respiratory function, lung age, and quality of life parameters.

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Key information

Conditions

Pulmonary Function Balance Quality of Life

Age range

18 year–50 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

İstanbul Okçular Vakfı

Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Being between 18-50 years of age
  • Being registered with any of the sports federations in Turkey and being a licensed paralympic athlete for at least 1 year (
  • Having a lower extremity or upper extremity amputation or having permanent injuries as determined by the International Paralympic Committee

Exclusion criteria

  • Lack of consent to participate in the study.
  • Having undergone surgery within the last 6 months.
  • Having had a respiratory tract infection within the three weeks prior to the evaluations
  • FEV1/FVC < 0.7

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (L)

    Time frame: 4 months

    Pulmonary function (Forced expiratory volume in the first second FEV1)) was evaluated with a portable spirometer, COSMED Pony FX® (COSMED S.r.l., Italy) and measurements were performed according to European Respiratory Society standards.

    Considering that dizziness may occur during forced expiration, measurements were made while individuals were in a sitting position. While participants were sitting in a comfortable position in a chair with a backrest, nose clip was attached and they were asked to bite the mouth teeth and close their lips in a way that did not allow air to escape. The tests were performed at least 3 times by the participants and care was taken to ensure that the expiration time was at least 6 seconds and the plateau time was 1 second. Due to the device software that records all three data, it saved the average of the two best data and processed it as a value.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Forced vital capacity (FVC) (L)

    Time frame: 4 months

    Pulmonary function ((Forced vital capacity (FVC )) was evaluated with a portable spirometer.

  2. FEV1 / FVC (%)

    Time frame: 4 months

    Pulmonary function (FEV1 / FVC) was evaluated with a spirometer.

  3. Peak flow rate (PEF) (L/s)

    Time frame: 4 months

    Pulmonary function (Peak flow rate (PEF)) was evaluated with a spirometer.

  4. Flow rate 25-75% of forced expiratory volume (FEF 25-75%) (L/s)

    Time frame: 4 months

    Pulmonary function (Flow rate 25-75% of forced expiratory volume (FEF 25-75%)) was evaluated with a spirometer.

  5. Maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) (L)

    Time frame: 4 months

    The MEP which shows respiratory muscle strength was evaluated using a portable mouth pressure measuring device based on European Respiratory Society criteria.

  6. Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) (L)

    Time frame: 4 months

    The MIP which shows respiratory muscle strength was evaluated using a portable mouth pressure measuring device based on European Respiratory Society criteria.

  7. Balance

    Time frame: 4 months

    Balance was measured using the Modified Functional Reach Test

  8. Quality of Life

    Time frame: 4 months

    Quality of life was determined using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey that contains 36 questions and produces scores for eight health related quality of life domains. Each domain is transformed to a 0-100 scale. Higher scores represents better health status while lower stores represents poor health status.

  9. Lung Age

    Time frame: 4 months

    Lung age was calculated based on FEV₁ values. For male: Lung age (years)=(2.87×height in cm×0.394)-(31.25×FEV1 in L)-39.375 For females: Lung age (years)=(3.56×height in cm×0.394)-(40×FEV1 in L)-77.280

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Halic University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Investigation Of Pulmonary Function, Respiratory Muscle Strength, Lung Age, Balance, And Quality Of Life In Paralympic Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Aug 6, 2026
Registry last updated
Aug 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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