Author(s): Silva, Fernanda M. ; Ferreira, José P. ; Teixeira, Ana M. ; Monteiro, Diogo ; Duarte-Mendes, Pedro
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.11/10231
Origin: Repositório Científico do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco
Subject(s): Spirometry; Exercise training; Smoking; Aging; Health promotion
Purpose To investigate the longitudinal changes in lung function of sedentary middle-aged workers over a 16-week combined exercise training program. Methods Thirty-six sedentary workers (53.70 ± 6.92 years old) were randomly allocated to either a combined aerobic and resistance training program (n = 18) or a control group (n = 18). Lung function was evaluated through spirometry using a portable flow spirometer (Spiropalm 6MWT, Cosmed, Italy). Predicted percentages of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, and mean forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of exhaled FVC (FEF25–75) were analyzed. Assessments were performed at baseline (M1), after 8-week (M2) and 16-week follow-up (M3). The changes in lung function were analyzed using the Latent Growth Curve Modeling that estimated interindividual and intraindividual growth paths. Results Smoking status revealed a significant effect on lung function growth with significant paths to intercept and slope for all models in both groups. The exercise group participants who are non-smokers revealed higher increases in FVC% (β = .22), FEV1% (β = .08), FEV1/FVC% ratio (β = .19), and FEF25–75% (β = .06) compared to those who are smokers from M1 to M3. The control group revealed a lower growth in lung function from M1 to M3, with a lower slope observed in smokers compared to non-smokers for FVC% (β= − .44), FEV1% (β = −.41), FEV1/FVC% (β = − .98), and FEF25–75% (β = − .52). Conclusion Our findings suggest that a 16-week combined training program is an effective strategy to improve lung function among sedentary workers, with a higher magnitude of improvement for non-smokers compared to smokers.
