CORRELATION OF VITAL LUNG CAPACITY WITH BODY WEIGHT,
LONGITUDINAL AND CIRCUMFERENCE DIMENSIONS
T. Pavlica, V.Bozic-Krstic and R. Rakic
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department for Biology and Ecology, Laboratory for Human Biology,
21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Correspondence to: Tatjana Pavlica
E-mail: tatjana.pavlica@dbe.uns.ac.rs
ABSTRACT
Vital lung capacity is an indicator of body constitution type and functional ability of individuals. Since the vital capacity is
affected by a number of factors, the limiting values of the volume and capacity are rather broad. The objective of the study was
to determine the changes in vital capacity in relation to the age and its correlation with the educational status and
anthropological traits. Material and method: A cross-section anthropological study of adult population of Backa and Banat
region was carried out in the period of 2001-2006. In total, 4504 individuals took part in the study, including 1965 males and
2539 females. The mean age of male and female subjects was 40.10±11.84 and 41.12±10.75 years, respectively. The
correlation of vital capacity with the age, educational level and morphological traits of the subjects was obtained by
regression analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) at the level of significance p<0.01 and p<0.05. Results: The
average vital capacity in males is 3269±733.65ml and in females 2000±528.64ml. From the age of 20 to 39, the vital capacity
of both sexes remains at the same level, while later it decreases considerably. The vital capacity correlates with longitudinal
dimensions, particularly with the height, while the correlation with the weight is considerably lower. A negative correlation is
obtained in relation to all circumference dimensions of females and the waist circumference of males. Conclusion: The vital
capacity is affected by the sex, age, height and level of education. Education reflects the socioeconomic status, which in turn
affects the life quality. Good living conditions can provide development of higher values of morphophysiological traits. These
traits tend to change with aging.
Keywords: vital lung capacity, body weight, longitudinal
dimensions, circular dimensions, age, education
Introduction
Due to its correlation with many anthropological dimensions,
the vital lung capacity can be regarded as an indicator of
body constitution type. Moreover, because of its high
correlation with maximum oxygen consumption, the vital
capacity can also be considered as a measure of functional
abilities. The measurement of vital capacity is therefore a
frequently used method in modern anthropological
investigations and serves as a good indicator of assessing the
living conditions, abilities, physical and health condition of
individuals and populations.
Many studies have shown that the vital capacity is
affected by a number of factors such as sex (14), age (1, 5, 8),
constitution type and training (9, 10), climate (13), origin
(11), lifestyle (3), physical and health condition (4).
Socioeconomic status and living conditions in childhood can
affect respiratory functions of young adult age in two ways
(7). Individuals of lower socioeconomic status in their
childhood do not reach the lung volume and capacity of those
individuals with higher socioeconomic status. Secondly,
respiratory functions in individuals of lower socioeconomic
status decline more rapidly and at earlier age. Pulmonary
functions have been proved to correlate negatively with the
age, while a highly positive correlation has been recorded in
relation to the height and sitting height in both sexes. In
males, a positive correlation has been detected in relation to
the arm and leg length as well (6). The pulmonary functions
of females negatively correlate with the body circumference,
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skinfold and the weight. It has been determined that the vital
capacity is more dependent upon longitudinal traits than the
chest variables. Although the chest characteristics can help in
assessing its volume, these variables do not correlate with the
lung capacity to the highest possible extent, which has
already been detected in studies of adult population of Srem
(11) and Kosovo (1). A significant correlation between the
lung capacity and the height has been detected in both of the
sexes, while the correlation with the chest circumference is
considerably smaller. A study of the relation between the
trunk and vital capacity of young males (12) has proved that
only shoulder width and sitting height positively correlate
with the vital capacity measures. The pelvis width, on the
other hand, has shown a negative correlation. Since the study
included students of sports and physical education, most of
whom are active in different sports, the authors conclude that
the vital capacity is more likely to be defined by kinesiologic,
i.e. sports activities and the athletic constitution of the
subjects, than by the chest, i.e. trunk size.
This paper is a part of a wider and more comprehensive
study of adult population in Vojvodina. The aim of the study
is to determine the changes in vital capacity in relation to the
age and its correlation with the level of education and
anthropological traits.
Materials and Methods
The cross-section anthropological study of adult population
of Bačka and Banat was carried out in the period of 20012006. Bačka and Banat are part of the province of Vojvodina.
The former is in central and the latter in the north-east part of
the province, i.e. in the northern part of Serbia. The total
number of people who took part in the research was 4504
individuals, 1965 men and 2539 women. The mean age of
men in the sample was 40.10±11.84 years and of women
41.12±10.75.
The individuals were chosen based on multistage
sampling. The study was conducted in 46 villages which
represented all the typical geographical positions and gave
the adequate ethnic and national composition. The vital
capacity was measured by a spirometer (Reister“Spirotest“
cat.no.2600, Switzerland), with the capacity of 7l and
accuracy of 100 ml, in compliance with the instrunctions of
International Biology Programme-IBP (15). Since the results
of spirometry testing depend on the subjects’ cooperation and
training, the procedure was briefly explained (in some cased
even demonstrated) to each of the subjects. During the testing
period, the subjects were observed in order to ensure the
regularity of the procedure. In the case of some irregularities,
the procedure was explained and retaken. Three
measurements were conducted in all of the cases and the
highest value recorded was chosen for the analysis.
On the basis of the date of the investigation and their date
of birth, the decimal age of all of the subjects was calculated.
In relation to this value, the population was divided into 5 age
groups, the youngest including the subjects aged 20-29 (19.529.499), and the oldest including those over 60 years of age
(more than 59.5). According to the level of education, the
subjects were classified into 3 categories: those with primary
education (8 years), secondary education (12 years) and
university level education (14 to 16 years). Basic descriptive
parameters were calculated and the correlation between the
vital capacity and age, educational level and morphological
traits was obtained using the regression analysis and Pearson
correlation coefficient (r) at the level of significance p<0.01
and p<0.05.
Results and Discussion
The average vital capacity in males of Bačka and Banat is
3269ml, while in females it is considerably lower, equaling
2000.91ml. The sexual dimorphism on average equals
1270ml, which is rather similar to the differences detected in
previous studies of Srem region (11). Linear regression
coefficients of vital capacity and the age (Table 1) indicate a
noticebly negative correlation between these two variables,
i.e. a considerable decrease in vital capacity of both sexes in
older age.
TABLE 1
Linear regression coefficient of the vital capacity and age
Age
R
R2
F
ß
p
Males
Vital
.452
.204
502.979 -.452
.000
Cap.
Females
Vital
.406
.165 499.029 -.406
.000
Cap.
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One of the most influental factors on vital capacity value
is the age. The vital capacity of both sexes does not change in
the period from 20 to 39 years of age (Table 2), while
afterwards it considerably decreases, with significant
differences observed in certain age decades (p<0.01). The
variation span between the youngest and oldest subjects
appears to be larger in males than in females (1300 ml and
790 ml, respectively). Numerous studies (2, 5, 6, 8, 14) report
on decrease in vital capacity with aging. A decline in vital
capacity, starting from the age of 40, is also reported by
Gavrilović (3). The average annual decrease of vital capacity
equals 32.40ml/ year in males, and 19.75ml/ year in females.
These results are similar or slightly higher than those
recorded by Nikhil and others (8), who noted a decline of
24ml/ year in Europeans.
TABLE 2
Statistical analysis results of vital capacity in different age
groups
20 - 29
N
X
SD
473
3578.01
659.31
N
X
SD
444
2207.88
507.82
Age groups
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
Males
468
531
407
3538.78 3259.32 2811.79
627.87
650.58
620.75
F = 1.369 p = .000
Females
614
846
563
2238.27 1962.88 1695.03
503.71
472.50
437.78
F = 1.301 p = .000
> 60
82
2281.71
708.35
57
1417.54
463.34
TABLE 3
Linear regression coefficient of vital capacity and the level of
education
Educ.
R
R2
F
ß
P
Males
Vital
.137
.019
36.217
.137
.000
Cap.
Females
Vital
.185
.034
87.063
.185
.000
Cap.
vital capacity and educational level indicate a significantly
positive correlation between the two variables in both of the
sexes (Table 3).
In both males and females, vital capacity noticeable varies
depending on the level of education (Table 4). The smallest
capacity is recorded in subjects with primary education
(p<0.01). The subjects of secondary and university level
education demonstrate rather similar values. In young adult
age, subjects of lower socioeconomic status in their
childhood, based on their parents’ educational level, do not
reach the volume and the capacity of those individuals
characterised by higher socioeconomic status. It has also been
reported (7) that respiratory functions more rapidly decline in
individuals of lower socioeconomic status.
TABLE 4
Statistical analysis results of vital capacity in subjects of
different level of education
Level of education
Primary
Secondary
Higher
Males
N
283
1228
384
X
2912.01
3342.47
3298.18
SD
782.61
704.07
703.87
F = 41.925 p = .000
Females
N
563
1286
604
X
1801.95
2046.42
2089.57
SD
531.75
511.04
516.60
F = 55.504 p = .000
Pearson correlation coefficient is used to determine the
correlation of vital capacity with the measures of longitudinal
dimensionality, voluminosity and weight (Table 5). The
correlation referring to all of the measurements is significant
in both of the sexes. The highest positive correlation is
observed in relation to longitudinal dimensionality,
particularly the height. A slightly higher positive correlation
with the weight is noticeable in males than this is the case
with females. Regarding all circumference dimensions in
females and the waist circumference in males, a negative
correlation with the vital capacity is detected. A similar
correlation has already been recorded in previous
investigations (6, 11). The vital capacity is influenced by
Individual coefficients of linear regression between the
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longitudinal dimensionality measures and not by chest
circumference. Popović et al. (12) also report on a positive
correlation with the shoulder width and sitting height.
4.
TABLE 5
The correlation of vital capacity and measurements of
longitudinal dimensionality, voluminosity and weight
Vital Capacity
Vital Capacity
Males
Females
Height
.515**
.443**
Leg length
.393**
.312**
Arm length
.351**
.272**
Chest circumference
.071**
-.054**
Waist circumference
-.073**
-.140**
Hip circumference
.126**
-.070**
Weight
.208**
.055**
* Correlation is significant at the level of 0.05
** Correlation is significant at the level of 0.01
5.
6.
7.
8.
Conclusions
Vital capacity is dependent upon the sex, age, height and
educational level. The level of education reflects
socioeconomic status which in turn determines the quality of
life. Better living conditions can ensure higher values of
morphophysiological traits and these traits show increasing
discrepancies with aging. Since they come from families with
lower socioeconomic status, low education individuals might
have been unable to develop their genetic potentiality to the
fullest extent, and therefore these discrepancies remain
noticeable throughout their lifetime
9.
10.
11.
12.
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