Assessment of respiratory function in pharmacy students at Nguyen Tat Thanh University and improvement solutions

Abstract

    Personal health care is a crucial foundation for pharmacy students to enhance their awareness of protecting public health. This study aims to assess the respiratory function and identify the factors affecting the respiratory health of students in the Faculty of Pharmacy. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 410 students to measure respiratory function and assess depression using CHEST-HI 801 device and PHQ-9 scale, respectively. The results showed that most students had a normal physical condition (average BMI of (22.1 ± 3.8) kg/m²), but their respiratory indicators were lower than normal: percent of SVC (75.9 %), percent of FVC (74.4 %), percent of FEV1 (65.1%), PEF (94.4 %), with 67.1 % showing signs of respiratory disorders. Significant factors affecting respiratory function include age, gender, smoking, COVID-19 sequelae, depression, and breathing exercises (p < 0.05). This is one of the first studies at Nguyen Tat Thanh University to evaluate the respiratory health of pharmacy students, thus providing important data for proposing improvement measures, including enhancing physical exercise, practicing breathing techniques, managing psychological health, and raising awareness of respiratory health care in this group.