Abstract

Vital capacity is an important index in pulmonary function. At present, it is difficult to achieve accuracy in clinical diagnosis because of lack of unified standard of the normal reference value in younger women’s vital capacity in Nepal. So, the present study was carried out to evaluate vital capacity of healthy Nepalese young females and compare their values with healthy Indian counterparts to know whether Indian prediction equations for vital capacity can be used for Nepalese population or not. Ninety six (42 were Indians and 54 were Nepalese) young, non-smoker, female students of 18 to 20 years of age were recruited for this study. The mean vital capacity of Nepalese and Indian girls were 2650.31 ± 464.34 and 2629.21 ± 449.97 ml respectively. As no significant difference was found in the mean vital capacity of Nepalese and Indian female students, prediction equation made for Indian females may be used for Nepalese subjects. Therefore, an attempt has been made to formulate a regression equation from the combined Indian and Nepalese subjects. A stepwise, multiple, linear, regression equation was performed for this purpose. The regression equation based on height for the combined Indian and Nepalese adult females is calculated as: Vital capacity (ml) = 26.2 × Height (cm) – 1467.21.

Key words: Vital capacity, spirometry, Nepalese female, regression equation.