ABSTRACT
Background: This study has been performed to compare the pulmonary functions of healthy adolescents studying in schools situated in highly polluted areas with those studying in schools of low polluted areas of south western Punjab.Methods: This study was conducted in various schools located at Faridkot and Bathinda city. These places had been identified by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) as having low and high air pollution levels respectively. Study Population divided into two groups that is Group A: 300 children from schools situated in Bathinda city. Group B:' 301 children from schools situated in Faridkot city. Spiro Excel spirometer was used, and following parameters were obtained: FVC, FEV?, FEV?% (relation of FEV? to FVC), PEFR, FEF25-75%. Results: FVC was low in males and females in the high polluted group as compared in the low polluted group (p = 0.042; significant; males) (p = 0.039; significant; females). FEV? was low in males and females in high polluted group as compared in low polluted group (p = 0.003; significant; males) (p = 0.026; significant; females). In this study only, males showed a significant fall in mean percentage of FEF25-75%. PEFR was low in males in high polluted group as compared to that in low polluted group (p = 0.007; significant) while in females it was insignificant.Conclusions: It is concluded that in South Western Punjab, air pollution has detrimental effect on pulmonary functions (FVC, FEV?, FEV?%, FEF25-75% and PEFR) in healthy adolescents.
ABSTRACT
Background: Chronological age of the child is a poor indicator of his/her maturity status especially during adolescence. Skeletal age derived from hand and wrist is well established as a method of estimating physical maturity and particularly valuable at about time of puberty when the greatest number of variations in maturation are found among children of same chronological age. Methods: The investigation was carried out cross- sectionally on the menstruating 200 bania girls from Punjab. Skeletal maturity was assessed by Tanner-Whitehouse-2 method (20 bone score) by taking hand wrist radiographs of left hand as advocated by Tanner. Results: The mean skeletal age is 11.625± .2252 at mean chronological age of 11.181± .1337 (20B) and mean skeletal age is 12.092± .8036 at mean chronological age of 12.013± .2736. Delay is seen in skeletal age than chronological age at 13 and 14 years. The differences between skeletal ages and chronological ages are statistically significant at p < .05 at 11 years and 13 years. Discussion: Bania girls showed advancement of skeletal age over chronological age at 11 and 12 years while Chinese girls showed advanced skeletal age at 12 and 13 years and well off Chandigarh girls showed advanced skeletal age at 12 years of age. Conclusion: The ages at which skeletal age preceded the chronological age occurred much earlier in bania girls than well off Chandigarh girls and Chinese girls. As all ratings were done by the first author with higher reliability and without information on age. All these factors suggest that sample is representative of bania girls from Punjab and the observations on the skeletal maturation are reliable.