Spirometric parameters and their relationship to body mass index across sport specializations in male student athletes: A cross-sectional study

Ivan Bocharin; Maxim Guryanov; Elena Romanova; Alyona Guryanova; Nikita Romanov; Andrew Martusevich

doi:10.64268/jospa.v2i2.34

Authors

Ivan Bocharin Privolzhsky Research Medical University, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4961-5351
Maxim Guryanov Privolzhsky Research Medical University, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9910-5141
Elena Romanova Altai State University, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8167-8643
Alyona Guryanova Privolzhsky Research Medical University, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0972-5951
Nikita Romanov Altai State Medical University, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8702-5452
Andrew Martusevich National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation; Nizhny Novgorod State Agrotechnological University, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0818-5316

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64268/jospa.v2i2.34

Keywords:

External respiration, Computer spirometry, Athletes, Body mass index, Physical performance

Abstract

Background: Spirometric parameters are sensitive to the type and volume of habitual physical training, yet comparative data across different sports in non-elite student athletes, particularly in relation to body mass index (BMI), remain limited. Aims: To compare computer-assisted spirometric parameters in male university students engaged in different sports and to evaluate their associations with BMI. Methods: Thirty male university students were compared across three groups by sport specialization: mini-football (n=8), basketball (n=10), and cycling (n=12). External respiration was assessed by computer spirometry (PC Spirometry Set, Switzerland); FVC, IRV, ERV, VC, MVV, and TV were analyzed. Group differences were tested with the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's post-hoc test (Holm correction); associations with body mass index (BMI) were assessed by Spearman correlation. Physiologically implausible values were excluded before analysis. Result: Maximal voluntary ventilation differed significantly between groups (p = 0.004): it was lowest in basketball players, who differed significantly from both mini-football and cyclic-sport athletes. Tidal volume also differed (p = 0.026), being higher in cyclic-sport athletes than in basketball players. Differences in vital capacity showed only a non-significant trend (p = 0.055), and FVC, IRV, and ERV did not differ between groups. BMI showed no statistically significant correlation with any spirometric parameter (all p > 0.05). Conclusion: In male student athletes, ventilatory indices — particularly maximal voluntary ventilation and tidal volume — differed by sport specialization, with the lowest values in basketball players, whereas BMI was not associated with spirometric parameters. The absence of a BMI–spirometry association is consistent with the limited value of BMI as a body-composition marker in athletes, and sport specialization should be taken into account when interpreting spirometry in this population.

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