Association between Lung Function and Green Cover in the Living Space of School Children in Puducherry

Respiratory ailments such as cough, cold and allergies have been scaling up among children due to unprecedented decline in air quality during the past few decades in India. Respiratory health of children in Puducherry in association with air quality is not well documented. Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), pulse rate and oxygen saturation (SPO2) were studied using peak flow meter and pulse oximeter in 1187 school children (10-14 years) selected from Puducherry by stratified random sampling method. Socio-demographic, health status, dietary and lifestyle pattern were collected by interview schedule. Children were categorized into two groups based on ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers for the presence of green space in and around their home. Data was analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Around 95% and 77.5% of the girls and 91.6% and 83.0% of the boys from rural and urban areas respectively had reported the presence of green cover in and around their homes. Girls living in the rural area (294.7 ± 53.8 Vs. 297.2 ± 49.9) and boys living in the urban area (291.9 ± 68.5 Vs. 288.4 ± 56.2) had higher PEFR when compared to their respective counterparts. The minimum (2.8 L/min) and maximum difference (23.9 L/min) in PEFR between the two groups was noted among urban girls and rural boys’ respectively. Greenspaces lowers air pollution and increases the lung capacity. Hence, children must be encouraged to spend more time in greenspaces such as parks, backyards with more trees and plants and also motivated to start their own kitchen garden and terrace garden.