Influence of Gender and Anthropometric Parameters on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate and Vital Capacity among Medical Students of a Teaching Institution

Abstract

Introduction: Factors such as age, sex, body surface area, Body mass index (BMI), posture, physical activity, ethnicity etc which can influence Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) as well as vital capacity. This study was aimed to find the influence of gender and anthropometric parameters on PEFR and vital capacity. Material and methods: Healthy medical students (17-23 years) were enrolled in the study. PEFR was recorded using Mini Wight's flow meter and vital capacity was assessed using a wet spirometer. The data were analyzed statistically. Results: The study included 90 students (59 females and 31 males). The study found that males had a significantly higher PEFR and vital capacity compared to females (p=0.0001). A statistically insignificant trend of negative correlation was noted between BMI with PEFR (r =-0.02, p= 0.84) or with vital capacity (r =-0.004, p = 0.97) in females. A significant difference was found between the observed and predicted value for vital capacity in both males and females. Conclusion: Significantly higher PEFR and vital capacity in males could be due to the high stature, muscle build and decreased body fat. This study noted a significant difference between males and females for the observed and predicted value for vital capacity which could be due to the use of inadequate prediction equations for this population. Further studies are needed to derive a better prediction equation to correlate predicted one with the actual vital capacity.