Comparison of Spirometric Parameters in Athletes Engaged in Aerobic and Anaerobic Sports: a Cross-sectional Study

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 131 professional athletes. A convenience sampling technique was used. The data were collected from April to November 2022 using a proforma form, entered into Microsoft Excel, and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16.

Results: Out of 131 total participants, 65 were involved in aerobic sports, while 66 were in anaerobic sports. The mean age of the participants was 27.34±5 years, the majority being male (=104). Aerobic athletes had higher differences in forced vital capacity (1.19%, =0.726) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (3.08%, =0.315), the difference was not statistically significant. Statistically significantly higher difference in forced expiratory flow at 25-75% (13.42%, =0.001), forced expiratory flow at 0.2-1.2 l/s (7.47%, =0.035), and maximum voluntary ventilation (8.58%, =0.023) values were observed among aerobic athletes.

Conclusion: Aerobic and anaerobic athletes had no statistically significant difference in forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in the first second; however, other spirometry parameters were comparatively better in aerobic athletes.