Physical activity is not associated with spirometric indices in lung-healthy German youth

In lung disease, physical activity improves lung function and reduces morbidity. However, healthy populations are not well studied. We estimate the relationship between spirometric indices and accelerometric physical activity in lung-healthy adolescents. 895 nonsmoking German adolescents without chronic lung disease (45% male, mean±SD age 15.2±0.26 years) from the GINIplus and LISAplus cohorts completed questionnaires, spirometry, 7-day accelerometry and an activity diary. Physical activity was measured as minutes, quintiles and regularity of daily moderate, vigorous and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), participation in sport and active commuting to school. Primary outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC; they were separately correlated with physical activity and adjusted for confounders of respiratory function, including early-life exposures. Adolescents averaged 40 min MVPA per day, typical for European youth. 79% participated in sports and 51% commuted actively. An association was suggested between 3% higher FVC (∼100 mL) and either extreme MVPA quintile or percentage of days with >30 min MVPA ( p<0.05). However, after Bonferroni correction all associations between spirometry, active lifestyle and physical activity were nonsignificant. Spirometric indices were not significantly associated with active lifestyle or measures of activity in lunghealthy adolescents after adjustment for confounding and multiple-comparison artefacts.