Effect of increasing weight on spirometry in young healthy adult female: A study in West Bengal

Abstract

Introduction and aim: There are conflicting reports on pulmonary function in overweight and obesity. This study was carried out in healthy young adult female Bengali subjects to evaluate the effect of increasing weight on spirometry. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care centre in eastern India. Body mass index of the subjects were determined and they were grouped into underweight, normal, overweight and obese. Spirometric parameters included forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, forced expiratory flow between 25-75% of vital capacity (FEF25-75%) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Results: Out of 84 female subjects included in the study, 11 were underweight, 64 normal and 9 overweight. All the subjects were between 18 and 22 yrs. Median height, weight and BMI were 160 cm, 54.1 kg and 21.5 kg/m2 respectively. Median FVC, FEV1 and PEFR were 2.739 L, 2.351 L and 5.048 L/s respectively. There was no significant difference in any of the respiratory parameters among the underweight, normal and overweight groups. Median FVC, FEV1 and PEFR were lowest in underweight and highest in overweight group. Weight had significant positive correlation with FVC, FEV1 and PEFR while BMI had significant positive correlation with FVC and PEFR. Conclusion: FVC, FEV1 and PEFR tend to increase with increase in weight in normal and overweight range of BMI.