A Comparative Study of the Peak Expiratory Flow Rate of Indian and Nepalese Young Adults in a Teaching Institute

Abstract

Peak expiratory fl ow rate (PEFR) measurement is the easiest and cheapest method to evaluate
respiratory functions. So, the study was carried out to evaluate PEFR of healthy Nepalese adults and
compare their values with healthy Indian counterparts to know whether Indian prediction equations
for PEFR can be used for Nepalese adult population or not.
One hundred twenty-three healthy, young, non smoker adult Indian (64: 28 Males, 36 Females) and
Nepalese (59: 32 Males, 27 Females) medical students of 18 to 20 years of age participated in the study.
The mean PEFR of Indian (male: 490.4 liter/min, female: 386.0 liter/min) and Nepalese (male: 485.9
liter/min, Female: 365.2 liter/min) young adults were found to have no signifi cant differences.
As there is no signifi cant difference in the mean PEFR of Indian and Nepalese young adults, prediction
equations made for Indian adults can be used to predict PEFR of Nepalese subjects. Therefore, an
attempt has been made to formulate a regression equation from the combined Indian and Nepalese
subjects. A stepwise, multiple, linear, regression analysis was performed for this purpose. The analysis
showed that height is the best predictor for PEFR in the present study. The regression equation based
on height for the combined Indian and Nepalese young adults is calculated as: PEFR = 5.687 × Height
(cm) – 495.787. However, a stepwise, multiple, linear, regression equation with residual analysis
for the best fi t model was performed to formulate prediction equation for PEFR and this showed a
change of the earlier regression equation to PEFR = 5.930 × Height (cm) – 536.131.
Keywords: Peak expiratory fl ow rate, peak fl ow meter, prediction equation, spirometry, young
adults