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Objectives: The present study was aimed to compare the respiratory impedance of children residing in areas with different ambient air pollution (AAP)., Methods: A comparative cross-sectional pilot study was carried out in healthy school children of two cities in India i.e. Agra and Bhopal. Agra is one of the most polluted cities of India and AAP of Agra is much higher as compared to Bhopal, the reference city in the present study. The respiratory impedance was measured at 5, 11, and 19 Hz by forced oscillation technique (FOT). The anthropometric parameters, respiratory resistance at 5 Hz (R5), small airway resistance (R 5-19 ), and reparatory reactance at 5 Hz (X5) of children from above two cities were compared by Student's t-test., Results: A total 114 children (57 boys) from Agra and 151 children (76 boys) from Bhopal aged 9-16 years were recruited. The children from Agra were younger (11.9 ± 1.9 yr vs. 13.1 ± 2.2 yr, p < 0.001) as compared to Bhopal, though their anthropometric parameters were comparable. The magnitude of R5 (5.53 ± 1.81 cmH 2 0/L/s vs. 5.10 ± 1.77 cmH 2 0/L/s, p = 0.05), X5 (-1.46 ± 0.65 cmH 2 0/L/s vs. -1.17 ± 0.63 cmH 2 0/L/s, p < 0.001), and R 5-19 (0.79 ± 0.79 cmH 2 0/L/s vs. 0.56 ± 0.78 cmH 2 0/L/s, p = 0.023) in children of Agra were higher as compared to children of Bhopal. The differences in impedance were significantly higher between boys, but not between girls., Conclusions: The present study demonstrates a higher magnitude of small airway dysfunction in children exposed to high AAP. A future study involving larger samples and longitudinal measurements of respiratory impedance will provide better insights., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To develop regression equations of within and whole-breath respiratory impedance for Indian children aged 5 to 17 y., Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in 5 to 17 y old school children of Bhopal, India. Healthy children were identified by physical examination and by administering questionnaire. The respiratory system resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) were measured at frequency of 5, 11, and 19 Hz by forced oscillation technique (FOT). The regression equations of within and whole-breath Rrs and Xrs were developed separately for boys and girls by multiple linear regression models., Results: Total 336 children were recruited and data of 320 healthy children (boys - 159), standing height of 146.1 ± 16.6 cm and body mass index of 17.2 ± 2.9 kg/m 2 were included in the analysis. The mean respiratory system resistance at 5 Hz (R5) and respiratory system reactance at 5 Hz (X5) of the children, irrespective of gender were 5.46 ± 2.10 cmH 2 O/L/s and - 1.43 ± 0.85 cmH 2 O/L/s respectively. Boys of age 16 y and older had significantly smaller Rrs as compared to girls of corresponding age (p < 0.05). The standing height of children had the highest predictive power, followed by age in the regression model. With an increase in standing height, the magnitude of both Rrs and Xrs values of children decrease. The bodyweight of children had a negligible contribution to the regression models., Conclusions: The regression equations of within- and whole-breath Rrs and Xrs of Indian children aged 5 to 17 y are presented for the first time. The R5 values of Indian children were comparable to children of other ethnicities.