PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL OF MOUTH- AND NOSE-BREATHING SCHOLARS

Abstract

Objective: To identify mouth- and nasal-breathing individuals in a school population and to characterize the physical activity level of these groups. Materials and Method: This is a descriptive study performed in two years, including children aged between 6 and 12 years in a public school in the interior of the Sao Paulo state. They attended an otolaryngology ward of a university hospital to undergo clinical examination (otoscopy, rhinoscopy and oroscopy) with the purpose of identifying and being categorized according to the breathing pattern: mouth or nasal breathing. Then, assessors blind to this standard applied the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results and Conclusion: The study included 154 students of which 84 were mouth breathers and, from these, 47 were male. The medium age of the nasal breathers was 9.60 ± 1.33 against 9.17± 1.14 of oral breathers. In relation to physical activity level, both were characterized as insufficiently active. There was a high incidence of mouth breathing among these children and independently from the respiratory pattern, nasal or mouth breathing, they had low level of physical activity, an important finding for preventive strategies and stimulation of physical activity practice in school. DESCRIPTORS: Physical Therapy. Pediatrics. Mouth Breathing.