Time Trends In Physical Activity Levels In Danish Adults With And Without Asthma - A National Recurrent Cross-sectional Case-control Study From 2010 To 2021.

INTRODUCTION: A few decades ago, it was recommended for individuals with asthma to avoid strenuous physical activities to prevent triggering bronchoconstriction. Today, physical activity (PA) and exercise are recognized as essential components of asthma management. Studies have shown that increased PA improves asthma control and reduce exacerbation rate. PURPOSE: To investigate if there is a statistically significant change in self-reported PA levels (PAL) among Danish individuals with asthma from 2010 to 2021. Secondly, to compare PAL between individuals with and without asthma in 2010 and 2021. METHODS: Data were derived from the ongoing National Danish Health Profile in 2010 (n = 172,226) and 2021 (n = 178,875). Respondents with self-reported asthma, no COPD and complete PA data were matched with the background population based on survey year, age, sex and educational level. Data included PAL, physical- and mental health, sleep-disturbance, pain inference, comorbidities, demographic, and behavioral factors. RESULTS: The analysis comprised 11,842 asthma cases and controls in 2010 and 16,152 in 2021 (60% females, mean ± SD age 49 ± 17 yr). The proportion of asthma cases engaging in moderate/vigorous PA decreased significantly from 2010 to 2021 (27% vs 21%, respectively, p < 0.001). In both 2010 and 2021, a significantly smaller proportion of asthma cases engaged in moderate/vigorous PA compared to controls (27% vs. 29%, p < 0.001, and 20% vs. 21%, p < 0.001, respectively). The adjusted multinominal regression model, revealed that having asthma in 2021 was negatively associated with moderate/vigorous PA (OR 0.84; 95% CI 0.73; 0.97) while pain inference (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.48; 0.61), self-perceived poor mental health (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.38; 0.52) and being a current smoker (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.39; 0.54) were negatively associated with PAL. CONCLUSION: Physical activity level has declined over the past decade for people with and without asthma. Self-reported asthma is associated with being less moderate or vigorous active. These findings emphasize the urgent need for improvement in routine assessment and intervention of PA in the management of asthma.