Correlation of Spirometric Indices with Metabolic Risk Factors in Apparently Healthy Adults

Background & Aims: Central obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, & dyslipidemia are the risk factors of metabolic syndrome and the treatment of each risk factor includes life style modification. Exercise is important and integral part of life style modification and is dependent on lung functions. So this study has been done to find the correlation between spirometric indices and metabolic risk factors in apparently healthy adults.

Material and methods- We have recruited apparently healthy adults (n= 120) and measured waist and hip circumference, blood pressure, HDL, LDL, triglycerides and FBS in all the subjects. Among those seventy-seven subjects were found to have at least one or more metabolic risk factors (case group) according to NCEP ATP III criteria (with waist circumference >90cm for male and >80cm for female) and forty-three were without any metabolic risk factors (control group). Thereafter, spirometry was done in all the recruited subjects in both the groups and compared spirometric indices in both the groups.                                                                                               

Results: Persons at metabolic risks (case group) were having their FVC (L), FVC (%), FEV1 (L) and FEV1 (% of predicted) statistically significant lower and FEV1/FVC (%) values statistically significantly higher in comparison to the persons without metabolic risk factors (controls) indicating restrictive pattern of spirometric indices in persons at metabolic risks. We found in the study that as the number of metabolic risk factors increases FVC and FEV1 decreases gradually whereas FEV1/FVC increases initially but later decreases. On applying Tukey Post-Hoc test for Effects of number of metabolic risk factors on spirometric indices we found statistically significant correlation between1 vs 3 risk factors and spirometric indices (FVC% and FEV1%) and between 1 vs 4 risk factors and spirometric indices (FVC(L), FVC % and FEV1(L), FEV1%)

Conclusion- This study concluded that spirometric indices shows restrictive pattern in individuals having metabolic risk factors.