Effect of age on nasal cross-sectional area and respiratory mode in children.

Although nasal cross-sectional size has been reported for adults, no information is available concerning the effects of age on nasal area and breathing mode in children. Determination of the effect of age on nasal size is necessary in order to define nasal airway impairment in children. The purpose of this study was to determine mean nasal cross-sectional size in children between the ages of 6 and 15 years. One hundred two children were assessed during resting breathing. The pressure-flow technique was used to estimate nasal cross-sectional size, and inductive plethysmography was used to assess nasal-oral breathing. The results indicate that nasal airway size increased approximately 0.032 cm2 each year. Mean nasal cross-sectional area increased from 0.21 +/- 0.05 cm2 at age 6 to 0.46 +/- 0.15 cm2 at age 14. The percentage of nasal breathing also increased with age.