Pulmonary function test in healthy school children of 8 to 14 years age in south Gujarat region, India

OBJECTIVE: To obtain reference values for FEV(1), FVC, FEV(1)% and PEFR among children aged 8-14 years in south Gujarat region of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 655 normal healthy school children (408 boys and 247 girls) of Surat city aged 8 to 14 years studying in V to VII standard during November 2007 to April 2008. Height, weight, body surface area were measured. All included children were tested in a sitting position with the head straight after taking written consent from parents. Spirometry was done using the spirometer “Spirolab II” MIR 010. Spirometer used in the study facilitates the total valuation of lung function including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), forced expiratory volume ratio in one second (FEV(1)%) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). RESULTS: FVC, FEV(1) and PEFR were found to be statistically significant in the study groups. For FVC and FEV(1), highest correlation was found with age in girls and height in boys. For FEV(1)%, significant negative correlation was found with age and height in both sexes, but positive correlation was found with surface area. Similarly, PEFR showed highest correlation with surface area in boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Variables such as FVC, FEV(1) and PEFR show good positive correlation with height, age and body surface area in both sexes. There is a need to have regional values for the prediction of normal spirometric parameters in a country like India with considerable diversity.