A prospective study of respiratory infections in 12-year-old children actively engaged in sports.

Data on the incidence of respiratory tract infections, antimicrobial treatment, days with fever and absence from school on account of these infections were studied in children participating in extracurricular sports activities with regular supervised training and competitive events. Swimmers, ice-hockey players and apparatus gymnasts were compared to a control group of children. Their mean age was 12.7 years at the end of the one year study. The children were examined three times during the year. More information was collected by a nurse who contacted the mothers of the children every two months. The girls had contracted more respiratory tract infections than the boys during the study. This difference was only seen regarding common colds, not regarding major bacterial respiratory infections, i.e. otitis media, tonsillitis, sinusitis and pneumonia. Because of this difference the results were analysed separately for the sexes. No differences between the sports and the control groups were seen in any respect regarding respiratory infections. Contrary to general opinion, sports participation does not seem to have a preventive effect on the occurrence of respiratory infections in children.