Lung Function Parameters of Healthy, Non-Smoking Young People and Employees at Shaqra University, Shaqra

Abstract

Objective: To determine lung function parameters and their correlation with various anthropometric measurements in a healthy university population.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Medicine, College of Medicine at Shaqra, Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia, from September 2022 to February 2023.

Materials and Methods: Study was included workers/residents/students of Shaqra University, Shaqra. A convenient sampling approach was used to enroll participants. A specified questionnaire assessed the medical history of the participants followed by spirometry according to the American Thoracic Society guidelines using ndd “Easy on-PC®” spirometer. The data are presented as frequencies and percentages for qualitative and the mean and standard deviation for quantitative data and p-value of ≤0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Two hundred and twenty-nine (77.0%), 35 (12.0%), and 33 (11.0%) of the 297 participants were Saudis, Southeast Asians, and Africans, respectively. The mean age of the study participants was 31.3± 10.2 years. Significant (p<0.001) differences in lung metrics were observed between these ethnicities. Further analysis of the Saudi population revealed FVC (r= -0.349; p<0.001), FEV1 (r= -0.248; p< 0.001), FEV6 (r= -0.33; p<0.001) were all negatively correlated with age, while height was positively correlated.

Conclusion: The lung function parameters of Saudi participants are significantly different from the participants from other geographical regions. The lung parameters are significantly affected by age, height and ethnicity