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Factors affecting the development of lung function in Tunisian children
Y Trabelsi1, J Pariès, I Harrabi
1Faculté de Médecine de Sousse, Laboratoire de Physiologie et des Explorations Fonctionnelles, Université de Sousse, Sousse, Tunisie. trabelsiyassine@yahoo.fr
Insights
Childhood lung function in Tunisia is primarily influenced by body size and environmental factors like heating type, not birth morphology or socioeconomic status. These findings highlight key predictors for healthy pulmonary development in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Respiratory Medicine
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Pulmonary development is crucial for long-term health.
- Factors influencing lung function in children require comprehensive evaluation.
- Understanding these factors is vital for public health initiatives in pediatric respiratory care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of various factors on lung function in healthy Tunisian children.
- To identify key predictors of pulmonary development in childhood.
- To differentiate between factors significantly associated with lung function and those that are not.
Main Methods:
- Spirometry was used to measure pulmonary function in 756 healthy children aged 6-16.
- Data on morphology at birth, physical activity, anthropometrics, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors were collected via questionnaire.
- Univariate and general linear model analyses were employed to assess associations.
Main Results:
- Morphometric parameters (height, weight, thoracic perimeters), age, and sex were significantly associated with lung function.
- Height at birth showed a strong relationship with forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)).
- Indoor pollution and passive smoking influenced lung function, while birth morphology, physical activity, and socioeconomic status did not show significant associations in the final model.
Conclusions:
- Childhood lung function is significantly predicted by morphological factors (height, weight, thoracic perimeter), age, sex, and environmental conditions like heating type.
- Birth morphology, physical activity, and socioeconomic status were not found to be significant predictors in this cohort.
- These findings provide insights into optimizing pulmonary development through targeted interventions and environmental improvements.
Abstract:
We undertook to evaluate the impacts of morphology at birth, physical activity, anthropometric, socioeconomic and environmental factors on lung function in healthy Tunisian children. Pulmonary function parameters were measured with a Minato portable spirometer in a randomized population of 756 healthy children (388 males and 368 females) aged between 6 and 16. The morphology at birth, the gestational age, the physical activity, the socioeconomic status, the type of habitation, and the environmental factors were all assessed by a standard questionnaire. Using univariate analysis, we found that: (1) morphometric parameters (height, weight, maximal inspiratory, and expiratory perimeter), as well as sex were highly associated with pulmonary function parameters; (2) Height at birth showed strong significant relations with FVC, FEV(1), and FEV(1)/FVC; (3) lung function parameters were influenced by physical training of our children, socioeconomic status, indoor pollution, and passive smoking; and (4) we did not observe any association between the gestational age and the weight at their birth and lung function parameters. Using a general linear model analysis, morphometric parameters, age, sex, type of heating, and maximal inspiratory and expiratory perimeters had significant relation with respiratory parameters. In our population of healthy Tunisian children, the main predictive factors of the pulmonary development were the morphological factors such as height, weight, maximal inspiratory, and expiratory thoracic perimeter, sex and age, and the environmental conditions such as type of heating but not morphology at birth, physical activity, or socioeconomic status.
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