Gupta Sharat, Mittal Shallu, Kumar Avnish, Singh Kamal Dev
Department of Physiology, Gian Sagar Medical College, Rajpura, Patiala .
N Am J Med Sci. 2013 Jul;5(7):422-6. doi: 10.4103/1947-2714.115781.
Anthropometric and socioeconomic factors are known to influence peak expiratory flow rate, but the effect of altitude has not been established decisively, due to conflicting results of various studies.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of altitude on peak expiratory flow rate of healthy school children.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in which the peak expiratory flow rate of a group of 290 school children (140 male and 150 female), aged 7-14 years, residing in Shimla (altitude 2150 meters), were compared with the results obtained in an age- and sex-matched control group, consisting of 280 school children (138 male and 142 female), residing in Patiala (altitude 278 meters). Mini Wright Peak Flow Meter was used for the study.
The mean peak expiratory flow rate value of boys at high altitude (265 ± 92.6 L/min) was significantly higher than those in plain areas (245 ± 82.1 L/min). Similarly, the mean peak expiratory flow rate of highlander girls (250.4 ± 70.2 L/min) was significantly higher than girls of plains (232.6 ± 65 L/min).
The study suggests that besides anthropometric and socioeconomic factors, altitude is an important determinant of lung function.
已知人体测量学和社会经济因素会影响呼气峰值流速，但由于各项研究结果相互矛盾，海拔高度的影响尚未得到明确证实。
本研究旨在评估海拔高度对健康学童呼气峰值流速的影响。
进行了一项横断面研究，将居住在西姆拉（海拔2150米）的290名7至14岁学童（140名男性和150名女性）的呼气峰值流速与年龄和性别匹配的对照组（由居住在帕蒂亚拉（海拔278米）的280名学童（138名男性和142名女性）组成）的结果进行比较。本研究使用了小型赖特峰值流量计。
高海拔地区男孩的平均呼气峰值流速值（265±92.6升/分钟）显著高于平原地区的男孩（245±82.1升/分钟）。同样，高海拔地区女孩的平均呼气峰值流速（250.4±70.2升/分钟）显著高于平原地区的女孩（232.6±65升/分钟）。
该研究表明，除了人体测量学和社会经济因素外，海拔高度是肺功能的一个重要决定因素。
