| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 1 | Page : 20-25 |
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Relationship between anthropometric variables and lung function parameters among primary school children
Jibril Mohammed1, Sa'adatu Abubakar Maiwada2, Farida Garba Sumaila2
1 Department of Physiotherapy, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
2 Department of Physiotherapy, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Jibril Mohammed
Department of Physiotherapy, Bayero University Kano, Kano, Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0331-3131.163331
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Background: Anthropometric measurements in children are known to change with increasing age and other factors. This study investigated the relationship between anthropometric variables and lung functions (LF) of children.
Materials and Methods: Two hundred and fifty apparently healthy school children aged between 6 and 12 years (male: 9.3 ± 2; female: 9.4 ± 1.9) participated in this study. They were recruited using multi-stage sampling technique from five purposively selected primary schools in Kano, Nigeria. Their LF such as forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) were assessed using a micro computerized spirometer. Additionally, anthropometric variables, including height, weight, chest circumference (CC), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics on SPSS. Alpha probability level of 0.05 indicated point of significance.
Results: The results showed gender similarities for age (P = 0.502; 95% confidence-interval [CI] = 0.07-0.15), height (P = 0.142; 95% CI = 0.003-0.04), weight (P = 0.511; 95% CI = −2.34-6.68), WC (P = 0.556; 95% CI = −2.23-6.53), HC (P = 0.084; 95% CI = −1.67-8.13), CC (P = 0.133; 95% CI = −0.11-0.02), FEV 1 (P = 0.452; 95% CI = −0.81-0.69), FVC (P = 0.158; 95% CI = −0.15-0.8) and PEF (P = 0.181; 95% CI = −0.009-0.07). All anthropometric variables showed significant relationship with LF parameters (0.289> r <0.581). In the male children, underweight and normal weight body mass index (BMI) groups had lower values for FEV 1 (P = 0.003) and FVC (P = 0.001) compared the higher BMI groups. In the female children, only the underweight BMI group showed lower values for FEV 1 (P = 0.042) and FVC (0.05) compared to other groups (P < 0.05). Conversely, the PEF was similar across all the BMI groups among both males (P = 0.104) and female (P = 0.296) children.
Conclusion: Anthropometric variables are strong determinants of LF among the children. Besides higher BMI had a positive influence on FEV 1 and FVC values. |
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