Musculoskeletal aspects of respiratory function in cystic fibrosis: a cross-sectional comparative study

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic data.

	CF group (n=21) Mean (SD)	Healthy controls (n=42) Mean (SD)	Effect Size (95% CI)	p value
Age in years	34.9 (8.7)	34.8 (9.6)	0.003 (−4.9–4.9)	0.992
Height in cm	170.6 (9.1)	174.4 (10.4)	0.376 (−1.5–9.1)	0.164
Weight in kg	64.4 (12)	72.2 (14)	0.538 (0.6–14.9)	0.034
BMI	21.9 (2.5)	23.6 (3.2)	0.552 (0.0–3.2)	0.044

Table 2. Respiratory characteristics in the CF and healthy control groups.

		CF group (n=21) Mean (SD)	Healthy controls (n=42) Mean (SD)	Effect Size (95% CI)	p value
Thoracic mobility (RMMI) in mm	Upper thoracic	34.2 (10.6)	35.5 (12.5)	0.109 (−5.1–7.7)	0.685
	Lower thoracic	28 (11.7)	30.1 (13.9)	0.156 (−5.0–9.2)	0.561
	Abdominal	25 (8)	28.1 (10.7)	0.306 (−2.3–8.4)	0.257
Thoracic excursion in cm		5.8 (2.1)	7.2 (2.2)	0.659 (0.3–2.6)	0.017
Inspiratory muscle strength (MIP) in cm H2O		99.1 (27.1)	105.7 (26.7)	0.246 (−7.8–21.0)	0.362
Expiratory muscle strength (MEP) in cm H2O		122.2 (33)	133.6 (27.6)	0.388 (−4.3–27.2)	0.152
FVCpp		90.3 (18.9)	110.1 (13.1)	1.302 (11.7–28.0)	<0.001
FEV1pp		70.7 (26.3)	103.6 (13.6)	1.761 (22.9–42.9)	<0.001

Abbreviations: Respiratory Movement Measuring Instrument (RMMI), Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (MIP), Maximal Expiratory Pressure (MEP), Forced Vital Capacity per cent predicted (FVCpp), Forced Expiratory Volume in one second per cent predicted (FEV₁pp).

Figure 1. Number of TPs presented in median, interquartile range (IQR) and outliers by the Cystic fibrosis group compared to the healthy controls per anatomical area: 1) cervical Spine: CF group (3.0; 2.0–5.0) compared to healthy controls (0.5;0.0–1.3) (p <0.001). 2) thoracic Spine: CF group (3.0; 1.0–4.5) compared to healthy controls (0.0;0.0–2.0) (p <0.001). 3) Lumbar Spine: CF group (0.0;0.0–1.0) compared to healthy controls (0.0;0.0–0.0) (p = 0.016). 4) costo-vertebral Joints: CF (3.0;1.5–7.0) compared to healthy controls (0.0;0.0–1.0) (p <0.001). 5) costo-sternal Joints: CF group (1.0;0.0–4.5) compared to healthy controls (0.0;0.0–0.0) (p <0.001). Circles and asterisks represent data points outside the IQR, considered as mild or notably distant outliers respectively.

Data availability statement

Data will be available upon request.