Spirometric Values in Healthy Northeast Thai Children and Adolescent

Abstract

Background: Differences in pulmonary function are influenced by ethnic, genetic or environmental factors pollution, nutritional status and exercise. Appropriate reference values are needed for the assessment o fpulmonary disease.No published studies regarding spirometric values of healthy children and adolescents of the northeast of Thailand have been reported.

Objectives: To determine predictive equations for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV), forced vital capacity (FVC) and dthe fodrced expiratory flow (FEF), and evaluate whether they are different from other ethnic groups.

Methods: Standard spirometry was performed in 470 healthy children and adolescents of Kaennakorn wittayalai school (305 males) 12 to 19 years of age using the Eagle one spirometer. Regressopm analyses using height (H) and age (A) as independent variables were applied for both sexs.

Results: Almost all-spirometric volumes were systematically lower than those of Europe, Polynesian, and Chinese. Predictive equations were; In male: FVC = 0.054H+0.062A-6.596 (r = 0.863), FEV = 0.046H+0.073A-5.779 (r = 0.862) FEF = 0.062H+0.173A-6.9.9 (r = 0.552), FEF = 0.048H+0.165A-5.968 (r = 0.566), FEF = 0.03H+0.131A-4.478 (r = 0.555), FRF = 0.0455H+0.145A-5.655 (r = 0.592) PEF = 0.075H+0.146-8.127 (r = 0.510), FEV = 0.029H+0.16-2.615 (r = 0.500), FEF =-0.073H-0.07A+17.339 (r = 0.280), FEF = -0.081H-0.045A+17.703 ( r = 0.418), FEF = -0.035H+0.173A+5.391 (r = 0.552), FEF = -0.055H+0.06A+0.06A+11.5 (r =0.350), PEF = -0.071H-0.097A+17.768 (r = 0.231).

Conclusions: This study confirms the previous studies by others that apart from the FEF FVC and its componendts were systematically lower than those of Caucacians. Further studies in a larger number of population are needed before establishing “normal” values for the northeast Thai children and adolescens,