A study on differences in peak expiratory flow rate among school children of age 7-12 years at different altitudes of Darjeeling and Purulia district of West Bengal

Rajib Dey; Debangshu Baidya; Balai Chandra Karmakar

doi:10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20243856

Authors

Rajib Dey Department of Pediatrics, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
Debangshu Baidya Department of Pediatrics, Medical College Kolkata and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Balai Chandra Karmakar Department of Pediatrics, Medical College Kolkata and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20243856

Keywords:

Altitude, Darjeeling, Peak expiratory flow rate, Purulia, School children, West Bengal

Abstract

Background: The peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is an effort-dependent parameter, which reflects large airway flow, voluntary and muscle strength. High altitudes may have an impact on peak expiratory flow rate, owing to hypoxia, low air density and increased muscular activity, The study was conducted to find out the variance of PEFR among healthy school children of high and low altitude region.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at different altitudes and schools of Darjeeling and Purulia district, taking a total of 400 healthy school going children aged between 7-12 years. The age, weight and height of the children were calculated and the PEFR was recorded in standing position. The data was entered in MS Excel and analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0 software.

Results: The mean height, body mass index (BMI) and SpO2 was lower among high altitude children, while their PEFR values were higher. These findings were observed to be statistically significant. Further, females were observed to have a lower PEFR value than their male counterparts.

Conclusion: The PEFR values of low altitude children were significantly lower than the high altitude children.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Dikshit MB, Raje S, Agrawal MJ. Lung functions with spirometry: An Indian perspective-I. Peak expiratory flow rates. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2005;49:8-18.

Jain SK, Kumar R, Sharma DA. Factors influencing PEFR in normal subjects. Lung India. 1983;1(3):92-7.

Primhack RA, Karpouzas JG. Factors affecting PEFR in children. British J Dis Chest. 1984;78:26-35.

Srinivas P. Factors affecting PEFR and derive predictive equation in children of 6-12 years of age of Karaikal. J Evol Med Den Sci. 2013;2:557-71.

Cingi C, Selcuk A, Oghan F, Firat Y, Guvey A. The physiological impact of high altitude on nasal and lower airway parameters. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2011;268:841-4.

Pederson OF, Miller MR, Sigsgaard T, Tidley M, Harding RM. Portable peak flow meteres: Physical characteristics, influence of temperature, altitude and humidity. Eur Respir J. 1994;7:991-7.

Abdulrahman RS, Samah A, Bossly A. Effect of high altitude on pulmonary function in healthy school children. Int J of Current Adv Res. 2017;6(2):2028-31.

Gupta S, Mittal S, Kumar A, Singh KD. Peak expiratory flow rate of healthy school children living at high altitude. North Am J Med Sci. 2013;5(7):422.

Kashyap S, Puri DS, Bansal SK. Peak expiratory flow rates of healthy tribal children living at high altitudes in the Himalayas. Indian Pediatr. 1992;29:283-6.

Pulickal AS, Fernandez GV. Peak expiratory flow rate in healthy rural south Indian school children. Indian J Public Health. 2007;51:117-9.

Paramesh H. Scenario of respiratory ailments in children with particular reference to asthma in Bangalore. Recent trends in aerobiology, allergy and immunology. Oxford and IBH. 1994;207-16.

Tahera H, Sangeetha S, Trivedi, RajeshK, Chudasama from department of paediatrics govt. medical collage Surat. Lung India. 2010;27(3):145-8.

Qazi RI, Qazi S, Laharwal MA. Peak expiratory flow rates in young Kashmiri adults through electronic spirometry. JK Pract 2003;10:279-80.

Weitz CA, Garruto RM, Chin CT, Liu JC, Liu RL, He X. Lung function of Han Chinese born and raised near sea level and at high altitude in western China. Am J Hum Biol 2002;14:494-510.

West JB. High altitude medicine. Am J RespirCrit Care Med 2012;186:1229-37.

Malamitsi-Puchner A, Tziotis J, Protonotariou E, Xyni K, Sarandakou A, Creatsas G. Heparin-binding angiogenic factors (basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor) in early neonatal life. Pediatr Res. 1999;45:877–80.