According to the American Lung Association, 7 percent of the country's population suffers from exercise-induced asthma, or EIA. Additionally, the lung association suspects that 40 percent of the population suffering from respiratory allergies (i.e. allergic rhinitis) will also suffer from exercise-induced asthma symptoms. With such a significant prevalence, it is important to investigate the causes of EIA, particularly when considering preventative measures that can ward off EIA attacks.
Theories/Speculation
According to Dr. Anthony Saglimbeni, the medical director at the Center for Sports Medicine (O'Connor Hospital, San Jose, California), the exact mechanism behind exercise-induced asthma is not yet known, but there are two prevailing theories.
EIA Theory 1
Highlighted in research by several professors from the medical departments at the University of Missouri-Kansas, East Carolina University and the University of Illinois, the airway-humidity theory suggests that breathing in and out of the airways dries them, triggering a series of events (airway edema, hyperemia, increased perfusion) that attempt to combat such dryness but instead produce asthmatic bronchospasms.
EIA Theory 2
Highlighted by the same medical researchers, the other EIA theory suggests that breaths are cooled as they move through the bronchial airways, decreasing the overall temperature of the air and triggering a hyperemic response by the bronchial tree to heat the airway, causing the bronchi to spasm.
Weather
Research published in the "Current Sports Med Report" (Dec 2006) and "British Journal of Sports Medicine" (Feb 2006) demonstrated that exercise-induced asthma is more prevalent during the colder winter months, by as much as 50 percent, than in the warmer summer months.
Seasons
A survey performed by the Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education concluded that people who exercise during the spring are three times more likely to suffer from EIA symptoms than others, most likely due to the rampant pollen in the air.
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