A COMPARISON OF RESPIRATORY MUSCLE STRENGTH BETWEEN PRIMIGRAVIDAE AND NULLIGRAVIDAE - A PILOT STUDY

Background and Objective: Pregnancy is characterized by physiological and anatomical changes in females which lead to major changes in the respiratory system. So the objective of this study was to compare the respiratory muscle strength of primigravidae with that of nulligravidae in Indian population.Methods:The total subjects were divided into two groups i.e. group A (Primigravidae group) and B (Nulligravidae). Subjects in both the groups underwent respiratory muscle testing according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) or European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines.Results: A total of 100 subjects were included in the study, out of which 50 were primigravidae with the mean age of 26.40 (± 2.74) and 50 nulligravidae with mean age of 26.00 (± 2.92). The mean respiratory muscle strength (PI max and PE max) of primigravidae were -48.70 ± 14.79 cmH2O and 34.26 ± 15.62 cmH2O and that of the nulligravidae were -56.74 ± 6.95 cmH2O and 66.36 ± 6.67 cmH2O respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in PI max (-8.04 cmH2O) and PE max (32.10 cmH2O) between primigravidae and nulligravidae (p=0.001 and 0.00). When respiratory muscle strength (PI max and PE max) was correlated with gestational week in primigravidae there was a moderate negative correlation of PI max (r = - 0.535) whereas PE max (r = 0.149) showed weak positive correlation with the gestational week.Conclusion: Respiratory muscle strength (PI max and PE max) in primigravidae decreased when compared to that of nulligravidae. So assessment of respiratory muscle strength should be made a part of routine check up during pregnancy to prevent any of the possible respiratory complications.