PHYSIOLOSICAL VARIATION OF PULMONARY-VENTIRATION BY WRIGHT'S PEAK FLOW RATE FROM THE VIEW POINT OF PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION

1462 persons over 13 years of age were chosen as subjects, among inhabitants of the following two communities which looked to be free from air polution. Fuji reclamation community, Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka prefecture and Iidagawa town, Akita prefecture. By means of the Wright's peak flow meter method, factors influencing the maximum forced expiratory flow rate were investigated, and the results were put to statistical analysis with the following conclusions: 1. No significant difference was found in regard to both communities. 2. The peak flow rate of the males was higher than the females at the significance level of 0.3%. 3. The peak flow rate reached the highest level at 20∼29 years of age, and tended to decrease with advance of age. 4. With increasing height, the peak flow rate had a tendency to increase. 5. The peak flow rate also tended to rise with increasing weight, but the extent was not so remarkable as in the case of height. 6. In the males the peak flow rate showed a slight increase in proportion to the circumference of the chest, but this tendency was less remarkable than the cases of the height and the weight. In the females the peak flow rate was hardly related to the circumference of the chest. 7. When the peak flow rate was calculated in terms of unit height (cm), the factor of height became slightly less. Yet almost no difference was noted as against the original peak flow rate. 8. Regarding to sex, age and height, the following formula was proposed for calculating the peak flow rate. For males:PM=3.28×H{1-0.026(x-2)} For females:PF=2.60×H}1-042(x-2)} x:2 for 20∼29 years of age 3 for 30∼39 years of age 4 for 50∼59 years of age 5 for 50∼59 years of age H:height in cm.