LAP Lambert Academic Publishing Asthma among children using Peak Expiratory Flow Rate as an indicator: An exploratory study

This study was carried out among rural and urban school going children of Puducherry, between the age of 11 and 16 years.The sample size was 1633 with 870 boys and 763 girls picked using stratified random sampling method. Peak Expiratory Flow Meter was used to measure PEFR. These values were correlated with selected anthropometric and socio-cultural attributes . Height, Weight,Chest Circumference, age, family history of asthma,and physical activity positively correlated with PEFR. About 66% girls and 34% boys had very low PEFR belonging to red zone which is indicative of asthma.