Anthropometric profiling in pulmonary function tests to study the effect of air pollution

[摘要] Background: Pulmonary function testing is an important practical application of respiratory physiology and has become a routine part of the evaluation of patients in whom a diagnosis of a cardiac or pulmonary abnormality or disease is entertained.Material and Methods: The study group included 144 subjects, while the control group included 148 subjects. The subjects included in both the groups are normal, healthy, non-smoking hard working males, working in their respective environments, 8-10 hours a day for a period of not less than 10 years.The ventilatory parameters included in this comparitive study are FVC; FEV1; FEV1/FVC%; PEF; FEF25-75%; Vmax25%; Vmax50% & Vmax75%.Mean & SD values of the ventilatory function tests in the study group and control group were calculated separately. Mean difference was tested using t test. The Chi-Square test is applied to find out the significant difference of a particular parameter between the study group & control group. Data was analyzed using SPSS package.Results and conclusion: Among the ambient air pollutants, the most dangerous to the respiratory system are particulate matter (PM10) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) produced by combustion of fossil fuels. These pollutants react with each other, forming hazardous acid sulfate particles, which are capable of reaching deep inside the tracheo-bronchial tree producing a bronchoconstrictor response, as their predominant site of action are the small airways. This is reflected by a sharp decline in the results of the small airways ventilatory parameters like FEF25-75% and Vmax75% of the study group when compared to those of the control group, thus establishing an early onset of small airways dysfunction.

[学科分类] 基础医学

[关键词] Anthropometric profiling;pulmonary function tests;air pollution