Variation of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate with Body Mass Index in Medical Students of Karachi, Pakistan

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of our study was to assess the variation of PEFR with BMI in normal medical students of Karachi, PakistanDESIGN: Cross-sectional studySetting: Medical students of Karachi Medical and Dental CollegeParticipants: 138 non-smoker healthy medical students composed of 111 females and 27 males. VARIABLE PARAMETERS: They include mean age, body height and body weight and PEFR. They were marked separately for each genderRESULTS: The mean BMI in females was found out to be 18.54±2.10 corresponding with that of mean PEFR value 431.62±56.62 whereas in males the mean BMI was 25.07±2.96 corresponding with that of mean PEFR value 533.70±23.22. Also there is a statistically significant variation in PEFR with an increase in BMI.CONCLUSION: The study concludes that PEFR is affected positively by variation in BMI. Also young males have more BMI and PEFR values than their young female counterparts. A large sample size with accurate peak flow meter is required along with ethnic consideration of the study population for better and accurate results