Patterns of Peak Expiratory Flow Rate Among School-aged Children in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), which is necessary to evaluate a child with hyperactive airway diseases such as asthma, is influenced by anthropometry, age, ethnicity, and gender. Hence, we sought to determine the PEFR, explore the relationship with anthropometric parameters, and derive a nomogram among a cohort of 1745 school-aged children in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria.The study was an analytical cross-sectional study involving school-aged children systematically recruited in Ilorin from public and private primary schools. We collected their socio-demographic and anthropometric parameters and assessed the PEFR with a hand-held Peak Flow Meter (HS Clement Clarke International, Harlow, United Kingdom).Data was analysed with SPSS 20. The overall mean PEFR of 170.45 ± 48.32 L/min was higher in males compared with females (178.32 ± 47.53 vs 162.57 ± 47.85 L/min, p<0.001). In males and females, the PEFR increased with age, weight, and height, with a correlation coefficient ranging from 0.47 to 0.59, p< 0.05. The height-independent equations for predicting PEFR in males and females were [-122.17 + age (years)* 3.95 + height (cm)* 2.06, p<0.001] and [-106.27 + age (years)* 4.87 + height (cm)* 1.74,p<0.001)], respectively. Also, the predicted PEFR was comparable to the observed PEFR among the study children. This study shows PEFR was higher in males than females, with a moderate correlation with the anthropometric parameters. The derived height-independent equations for predicting PEFR were comparable with observed values.