Simranjit Kaur
Baba Farid University of Health Sciences Faridkot, India
Title: Co-Relation of Body Mass Index(BMI) with the Prevalence and Severity of Asthma in Urban Children Aged 7-12 Years of District Faridkot, Punjab, India.
Biography
Biography: Simranjit Kaur
Abstract
A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the co-relation of BMI with the prevalence and severity of asthma in 23 school children aged 07-12 years and the BMI of 16.27 3.11. Automated spirometer was used to assess the lung function tests of the children. I used mainly PEFR ((Peak Expiratory Flow Rate) as a guideline to make the diagnosis of asthmatic or non-asthmatic based on the Spiro metric results. Reversibility of airway obstruction was done by repeating spirometery after two puffs of salbutamol inhaler. The results indicate that BMI, which is a measure of body fat, has a strong co-relation with the lung function tests. A significant decrease was observed in the values of Pre-PEFR and FEV1 ((Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second) with an increasing BMI indicating that body fat has a bearing on the severity of asthma (p=0.001). No significant relationship was identified between % FEV1 and BMI. Per-PEFR showed a trend towards becoming significant (p=0.187). This study supports the view that there is a definite trend co-relating severity of asthma symptoms and body weight.