Introduction: Basketball performance in children relies on coordination, speed, endurance, and overall physical fitness, yet the specific contribution of respiratory function in young athletes remains insufficiently explored. Understanding whether lung function supports superior game performance may help coaches and clinicians better evaluate respiratory readiness in pediatric sports contexts. While previous studies have focused mainly on cardiovascular fitness, the role of spirometric indices as predictors of sport-specific performance is still unclear. Objective: This study examined the relationship between spirometric lung function and basketball performance in school-aged boys, with the aim of determining whether lung function parameters could reliably discriminate higher-performing young athletes. Methods: Sixty-three healthy Caucasian boys aged 7–12 years, all of whom regularly practiced basketball, underwent spirometry following ATS/ERS 2019 guidelines. Measured parameters included FVC, FEV₁, PEF, and FEF25–75%, with corresponding z-scores calculated using GLI-2012 reference values. Basketball performance was defined as the average points scored across three official games. Participants were divided into tertiles based on performance. In addition to standard comparisons, we evaluated age-adjusted effects, predictive accuracy, and practical applicability of spirometric measures. Statistical analyses included Pearson correlations, ANOVA with post hoc tests, multivariable linear regression, logistic regression, and ROC analysis. Results: FVC z-score showed a strong positive correlation with basketball performance (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) and remained a significant independent predictor in multivariable regression (β = 0.42, p < 0.001), while FEV₁ was not. ROC analysis indicated good discriminative accuracy of FVC z-scores for identifying high performers (AUC = 0.79). Post hoc comparisons confirmed significantly higher FVC z-scores in the highperformance group. Additional analyses showed no significant age interaction and highlighted that FVC outperformed all other spirometric parameters in predicting player performance. Discussion: These findings suggest that respiratory capacity—particularly lung volume—is meaningfully related to functional output during competitive play in children. Spirometry, therefore, may offer insight not only into respiratory health but also into sport-related physiological readiness. Conclusion: Better lung function, especially higher FVC, is associated with superior basketball performance in school-aged boys. Spirometry may serve as a practical, noninvasive tool to assess respiratory fitness and physical readiness in pediatric sports contexts, supporting early identification of players who may benefit from targeted respiratory training programs.
Breath and bounce: How pulmonary capacity influences basketball performance in children
Martina Gnazzo
;Giovanni Messina;Marco Carotenuto;
2025
Abstract
Introduction: Basketball performance in children relies on coordination, speed, endurance, and overall physical fitness, yet the specific contribution of respiratory function in young athletes remains insufficiently explored. Understanding whether lung function supports superior game performance may help coaches and clinicians better evaluate respiratory readiness in pediatric sports contexts. While previous studies have focused mainly on cardiovascular fitness, the role of spirometric indices as predictors of sport-specific performance is still unclear. Objective: This study examined the relationship between spirometric lung function and basketball performance in school-aged boys, with the aim of determining whether lung function parameters could reliably discriminate higher-performing young athletes. Methods: Sixty-three healthy Caucasian boys aged 7–12 years, all of whom regularly practiced basketball, underwent spirometry following ATS/ERS 2019 guidelines. Measured parameters included FVC, FEV₁, PEF, and FEF25–75%, with corresponding z-scores calculated using GLI-2012 reference values. Basketball performance was defined as the average points scored across three official games. Participants were divided into tertiles based on performance. In addition to standard comparisons, we evaluated age-adjusted effects, predictive accuracy, and practical applicability of spirometric measures. Statistical analyses included Pearson correlations, ANOVA with post hoc tests, multivariable linear regression, logistic regression, and ROC analysis. Results: FVC z-score showed a strong positive correlation with basketball performance (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) and remained a significant independent predictor in multivariable regression (β = 0.42, p < 0.001), while FEV₁ was not. ROC analysis indicated good discriminative accuracy of FVC z-scores for identifying high performers (AUC = 0.79). Post hoc comparisons confirmed significantly higher FVC z-scores in the highperformance group. Additional analyses showed no significant age interaction and highlighted that FVC outperformed all other spirometric parameters in predicting player performance. Discussion: These findings suggest that respiratory capacity—particularly lung volume—is meaningfully related to functional output during competitive play in children. Spirometry, therefore, may offer insight not only into respiratory health but also into sport-related physiological readiness. Conclusion: Better lung function, especially higher FVC, is associated with superior basketball performance in school-aged boys. Spirometry may serve as a practical, noninvasive tool to assess respiratory fitness and physical readiness in pediatric sports contexts, supporting early identification of players who may benefit from targeted respiratory training programs.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
