SELF-REPORTED EXPOSURE TO SECOND-HAND TOBACCO SMOKE AND LUNG FUNCTION IN UNDERGRADUATE MALE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: Passive smoking, where an individual inhales tobacco smoke, has been associated with many health issues from asthma to cancer and is attributed to affecting pulmonary function tests like the peak expiratory flow rate of individuals. Keeping this in mind, the study was conducted to compare the peak expiratory flow rate of passive smokers with that of non-smokers. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted from 2017 to 2019 in which 184 male undergraduate medical students enrolled in the study at the time of admission for each successive year after informed consent. Participants were recruited by non probability consecutive sampling technique and divided into two groups based on status of passive smoking, passive smokers (n=97) and non-smokers (n=87). Their height, weight, waist to hip ratio, and peak expiratory flow rate were recorded. The recorded data was analysed on SPSS-26. Results: The current study showed that 52.7% of the study participants were passive smokers and 47.3% were non-smokers. A significant difference (p<0.01) of peak expiratory flow rate was seen between non-smokers and passive smokers on the Mann-Whitney U Test. As observed by mean ranks, nonsmokers had a higher peak expiratory flow rate (109.86 L/min) than passive smokers (76.93 L/min) (p=0.01). Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient revealed a positive significant relationship between peak expiratory flow rate and height in passive smokers (rho=0.21, p=0.04). Conclusion: The peak expiratory flow rate of passive smokers is less than that of non-smokers and there is a positive significant relationship between height and peak expiratory flow rate.