Flexibility, cardiorespiratory, muscular and neuromuscular fitness in school age children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia: A longitudinal cohort study

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Evidence regarding physical fitness in school-aged children born preterm, with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), is limited. <bold>Aims and Objectives:</bold> To examine the differences in flexibility, cardiorespiratory, muscular, and neuromuscular fitness between children born preterm with and without BPD and term-born control subjects. <bold>Methods:</bold> Fifty extremely preterm-born children (<28 weeks of gestation), including 19 with BPD and 31 without, along with 30 term-born controls, were followed annually throughout primary school by the Slovenian National Monitoring System for Children's Somatic and Motor Development (SLOfit). The programme includes eight fitness tests: flexibility (stand and reach), cardiorespiratory (600-meter run), muscular (sit-ups in 60 seconds, standing broad jump, bent arm hang), and neuromuscular fitness (arm plate tapping, backward obstacle course, 60-meter dash). <bold>Results:</bold> Children with BPD were less flexible compared to term-born controls (p<0.001). Moreover, they had significantly lower muscle strength, cardiorespiratory, and neuromuscular fitness throughout entire testing period. The differences between children with and without BPD were also significant for all tests except for arm plate tapping and flexibility. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> BPD, but not prematurity per se, has a significant impact on muscle tone and motor coordination, resulting in impairment in various physical fitness tests in school-aged children. This long-term pathophysiologic impact of BPD may predispose adolescents to cardiometabolic and other chronic diseases later in life.