Does Long-Term Regular Swimming Have an Influence on Quality of Life, Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms of Adolescents with Asthma?

Purpose: The aim of our investigation was to compare the quality of life (QoL), anxiety and depressive symptoms of regular swimmer and non-swimmer young asthmatics. Methods: 24 swimmer asthmatics, who took part in a complex swimming exercise programme, and 51 non-swimmer asthmatics were asked to fill out the Hungarian validated form of the Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ), the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory for Children (H. STAIC) and the Child Depression Inventory (CDI). Results: No difference was found between swimmer and non-swimmer asthmatic groups regarding QoL, anxiety and depressive symptoms. In the group of swimmer asthmatics significant activity impairment was found in PAQLQ ( p < 0.0001). Non-swimmer asthmatic girls show significantly more anxiety symptoms than boys ( p = 0.023). Furthermore, girls have a tendency to show more depressive symptoms compared to boys. Depressive symptoms are significantly fewer in the swimmer and non-swimmer asthmatic boy groups than in th...