Tobacco Use and Its Health Effects among Professional Athletes in Qatar

Can Respir J. 2016:2016:2684090. doi: 10.1155/2016/2684090. Epub 2016 Nov 29.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of tobacco use on selected markers of health and lung function in professional athletes. A total of 108 male professional athletes participated in the study from ten ball game teams in the same sport league in Qatar (age = 26.4 ± 5.1 yrs, height = 190.6 ± 11.9 cm, and weight = 91.5 ± 16.4 kg). The athletes have been playing professionally for about 6.3 years on average. In addition to demographic and tobacco use status, the following clinical variables were measured: resting blood pressure, heart rate, FVC, FEV1 sec, and PEF. The prevalence of tobacco use among the athletes was 27.7%. The FVC, FVC%, and FEV1% were significantly lower among the smokers compared to the nonsmokers (p = 0.003, 0.044, and 0.001, resp.). There were no significant differences between cigarettes smokers and nonsmokers in BP, HR, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEF, and PEF%. Similarly, those who smoked shisha had lower FEV1% values as compared to those who did not smoke shisha (p = 0.001). The decrease of FEV1 and FVC among smokers compared to nonsmokers is similar to what has been reported in the literature about other populations.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Athletes / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Lung / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Prevalence
  • Qatar / epidemiology
  • Respiratory Function Tests
  • Tobacco Use / epidemiology*
  • Tobacco Use / physiopathology
  • Young Adult