About the tests

What kind of tests will children be required to do?

Lung Funtion Tests

Spirometry 

This is the most common test of lung function and is used regularly by doctor’s to measure how much air children can get in their lungs and how quickly they can blow it out. The measurements we will collect are Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), which is the total amount of air that children can blow out when their lungs are full and Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1), which is the amount of air that children can blow out in one second. Children should be able to blow out most of the air in their lungs in the first second. For this test, we will ask your child to breathe in until their lungs are full, close their mouth tightly around a mouthpiece and then blow out as fast and for as long as they can. A nose clip will be put on your child’s nose. The results will be recorded on a computer. This test can be difficult, particularly for younger children (< 7 years old). We will ask all children to try to do the test but we will not force them to do it.

Forced Oscillation:

In this test we are getting information about the stretchiness of the lungs and airways. This test is easy for most children as all they need to do is breathe normally through a mouthpiece into a machine that produces a graph on a computer. As with spirometry children have to wear a nose-clip for the test.

Allergy Testing

There are many things children can be allergic to. These include cat and dog hair, house dust mite, pollens and some foods. We will measure if your child responds to some of the different allergens using the standard allergy test (skin prick test). For the skin prick test drops of the allergens are put onto the skin of your child’s forearm. A small prick/scratch is then made through the drop using a lancet (like a pin). If your child has allergy (eg. asthma, hayfever or eczema) they will most likely respond to the test (a small mosquito bite lump (a wheal) on the forearm). However, sometimes children who do not have any known allergy also have a response. This does not mean your child has an allergy.

Urine Sample Collection

We will also be asking to collect some urine from your child, which will be used for measuring chemicals (biomarkers) that may tell us something about your child’s exposure to environmental pollutants. For example we can measure something called cotinine that is a marker of cigarette smoke. We can also measure markers of exposure to traffic pollutants and possibly other air pollutants as well. To collect urine we will provide your child with a small sample pot and both a plastic and paper bag to take home. We will ask your child to fill the pot and return it to us inside the plastic and paper bags

Questionnaire

We will ask you (parents) to complete a respiratory questionnaire that has been used in another study of lung function in children. The questionnaire will be used to collect information on your child’s history of respiratory disease (eg. asthma), current symptoms and family history of respiratory disease. It will also include questions regarding your home environment (eg. how close you live to a major road, what you use for heating, how old your home is, how long you have lived in Kwinana). The questionnaire will also ask about the activity levels of your child (eg. how much sport they do, how they get to school).