ABSTRACT
Background: Bronchial Asthma is a common cause of mortality and morbidity in the developing world like India. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to establish a nomogram for PEFR in 6-12 yrs age group in relation to height in Eastern India, a first of its kind study from Eastern India. Setting: 1003 randomly selected healthy school children in Kolkata. Study Design: Prospective cross sectional study. Methods: Mini Wright peak flow meter was used to measure PEFR in resting condition and standing position. The best value of three attempts was recorded and compared to height, weight, sex and age separately. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the influence of various variables. Results: Height ranged from 95 cm to155 cm and PEFR ranged from 115 L/min to 335 L/min irrespective of sex. Mean PEFR was 241.5 L/min in all sexes whereas the median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile values were 244.1 L/min, 186 L/min and 290 L/min respectively. PEFR values increased in a linear pattern with increase in height in both sexes. Using multiple regression analysis we can estimate the PEFR values with height alone in both sexes with more than 95% accuracy. Conclusion: PEFR values depend on height, weight, age and sex, the former being the most important parameter