A study on differences in peak expiratory flow rate among school children of age 7-12 years at different altitudes of Darjeeling and Purulia district of West Bengal

Background: The peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is an effort-dependent parameter, which reflects large airway flow, voluntary and muscle strength. High altitudes may have an impact on peak expiratory flow rate, owing to hypoxia, low air density and increased muscular activity, The study was conducted to find out the variance of PEFR among healthy school children of high and low altitude region. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at different altitudes and schools of Darjeeling and Purulia district, taking a total of 400 healthy school going children aged between 7-12 years. The age, weight and height of the children were calculated and the PEFR was recorded in standing position. The data was entered in MS Excel and analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0 software. Results: The mean height, body mass index (BMI) and SpO2 was lower among high altitude children, while their PEFR values were higher. These findings were observed to be statistically significant. Further, females were observed to have a lower PEFR value than their male counterparts. Conclusion: The PEFR values of low altitude children were significantly lower than the high altitude children.