RESUMEN
Introduction: Factors such as age, sex, body surface area,Body mass index (BMI), posture, physical activity, ethnicityetc which can influence Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR)as well as vital capacity. This study was aimed to find theinfluence of gender and anthropometric parameters on PEFRand vital capacity.Material and methods: Healthy medical students (17-23years) were enrolled in the study. PEFR was recorded usingMini Wight’s flow meter and vital capacity was assessed usinga wet spirometer. The data were analyzed statistically.Results: The study included 90 students (59 females and 31males). The study found that males had a significantly higherPEFR and vital capacity compared to females (p=0.0001).A statistically insignificant trend of negative correlation wasnoted between BMI with PEFR (r = -0.02, p= 0.84) or withvital capacity (r = -0.004, p = 0.97) in females. A significantdifference was found between the observed and predictedvalue for vital capacity in both males and females.Conclusion: Significantly higher PEFR and vital capacityin males could be due to the high stature, muscle build anddecreased body fat. This study noted a significant differencebetween males and females for the observed and predictedvalue for vital capacity which could be due to the use ofinadequate prediction equations for this population. Furtherstudies are needed to derive a better prediction equation tocorrelate predicted one with the actual vital capacity.
RESUMEN
Introduction: Medical students experience considerableamount of stress related to various domains such as academicrelated, social related, interpersonal related etc. It is importantto look for the levels of stressors among medical students andintervene at appropriate time in order to improve the qualityof medical professionals.Material and methods: A cross sectional study was conductedamongst undergraduate medical students by providing astructured Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ20) to assess the stressors. Stresses related to academic related,social related, interpersonal related data were statisticallyanalyzed.Results: This study included 136 students (73% females and27% males). The mean age and BMI of the participants were21.24 ±1.74 years and 21.7 ± 3.3 kg/m2 respectively. This studyshowed that medical students experience moderate levels ofstress in all the domains of stress and a significant increase isnoted in academic related stress (ARS) than other domains (pvalue <0.0001) followed by group activities related stress andsocial related stress.Conclusion: ARS is acting as a major stress factor amongall the stress domains in medical students of this studypopulation. Appropriate measures should be taken to promotethe physical and mental well-being of medical students andthereby ensuring academic excellence and good qualitymedical professionals.