RESPIRATORY MEASUREMENTS OF 3,556 SHEFFIELD SCHOOLCHILDREN

In the epidemiological study of respiratory disease increasing use has been made of simple tests of ventilatory capacity such as the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in a specified period, usually one second (FEVi.0), and the peak expiratory flow rate (PFR). Most of these studies have been carried out in adults, for whom there are numerous series of data indicating ranges of performance in health and disease. There is relatively little information relating to children. Strang (1959) presented normal values for FVC and FEV^o in 418 boys and girls aged 7 to 18 years, coming from "a good residential area of Newcastle upon-Tyne". Lyons, Tanner, and Picco (1960) presented normal values for FVC and FEVi.0 in 1,163 boys and girls aged 6 to 14 years coming from a "predominantly middle class" background in New York. Neither of these studies provided sufficient standards for use in an investigation started in Sheffield concerning the relationship between the respiratory disease pattern of schoolchildren and their environment. The present investigation is intended to fill this gap and is based on an examina tion of 3,556 children aged 4 to 11 years, providing over 250 boys and 250 girls in each of the years 6 to 10. The results are presented in a form which, it is hoped, will be convenient for both epidemiological and clinical use.