(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Athletes expect to be a little out of breath at the end of a strenuous workout. But for many, it's more than just a little breathlessness. It's exercise-induced asthma (EIB).

That's the key finding of Ohio State University investigators in Columbus who ran about 100 varsity athletes from the school through a standard pulmonary function exam known as eucapnic voluntary hyperpnea (EVH) testing. Endorsed as the test of choice for EIB by the International Olympic Committee, the exam measures lung function after a person hyperventilates, thus allowing doctors to see what happens to the lungs in a situation that mimics changes induced by exercise.
 

Results revealed more than one-in-three of the athletes had classic signs of EIB -- and the vast majority (36 out of 42) had never before been told they had asthma.

"We targeted varsity athletes in this study because many of the reported severe episodes of asthma provoked by exercise have occurred among competitive athletes under the age of 21," study author Jonathan Parsons was quoted as saying. "Now that we've demonstrated how common this problem can be, more research is needed to determine the best way to monitor and manage athletes at the highest risk of developing symptoms while participating in their sports."

Exercise-induced asthma is a common condition in people known to have asthma, affecting between 80 percent and 90 percent of all asthmatics. But about one-in-10 people with no signs of chronic asthma are also affected, experiencing breathing difficulties only with exercise.

Study authors conclude their study points to the need for more doctors to use the EVH test to identify athletes with EIB. They write, "These data have particular clinical relevance as physicians commonly diagnose and treat suspected EIB empirically based on symptoms alone without objective testing and suggest that objective testing should be performed when EIB is suspected, especially in athletes."

SOURCE: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, published online Sept. 5, 2007