Impact of direct and second-hand smoking on lung function and aerobic capacity.
Description
Background: Smoking is considered the worldwide most preventable cause of death and a major predictor of mortality for Cardiovascular disorders. This study aims to investigate the impact of smoking including active and passive on pulmonary function as well as aerobic capacity among the young population and understand potential physiological mechanisms underlying such variations. Methods: 60 participants with a mean age of 21.7±1.4 were randomly divided into three groups: Active, Passive, and Non-smokers. Demographic details and anthropometric measurements were taken before the pulmonary function test and Cardiopulmonary fitness. To assess the Pulmonary Function, participants were instructed to exhale forcefully in the spirometer for at least 6 seconds after maximum inspiration. For the Aerobic capacity, participants were instructed to step up and down for 3 minutes on a wooden stand of height 41.3 cm with a cadence of 22 steps/minute for females and 24 steps/minute for males. Heart rate was recorded immediately after the test for 15 seconds and multiplied by 4 to obtain the rate per minute. Result: The result of this study revealed that smokers have lower Aerobic Capacity and FEV1/FVC as compared to Non-smokers and Passive smokers. It has been also observed that smoking history has a fair correlation with Aerobic capacity (r = 0.20) and a negative correlation with FEV1/FVC (r = -0.22) Conclusion: The present study concluded that smoking has an adverse effect on Aerobic Capacity and Pulmonary Function. Keywords: Aerobic capacity, Pulmonary function test, Smoking