No asthma, never touched a cigarette: Why healthy patients in NCR are getting lung screening tests

Doctors said respiratory issues are becoming increasingly common among young, otherwise healthy, individuals, when compared to last year.

Dr Ankit Bhatia, senior consultant, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Yashoda Medicity, said he had recommended a lung-screening test for the 19-year-old student, even as he had no history of asthma, allergies, or chronic respiratory illness. “He commutes to college in public buses and Metro trains. He has been exposed to roadside traffic pollution, it appears,” Dr Bhatia said.

“Pollution is now triggering airway obstruction even in people who never had respiratory complaints. That’s why we recommend PFTs to young adults experiencing unexplained breathlessness or persistent cough,” he added.

At the Pulmonology department on the sixth floor, most of the chairs arranged in three neat rows were occupied while the doctors’ cabins saw a stream of consultations. The department has been seeing 5-6 patients undergoing PFTs in a day; previously, only those with prior lung issues underwent the test.

Among the patients was Rakesh Kumar Gupta (60), from Muzaffarnagar, who drove two hours to Yashoda for the lung-screening test. “I’m a contractor, we are currently working on NH-58 in Muzaffarnagar. A week ago, I stood for an hour waiting for some officials who had to inspect the road… when I returned home, I had a bout of breathlessness,” he said.

Dr Bhatia explained how the PFT worked. Pointing to a glass, cabin-like enclosure fitted with a chair and blower, he described the equipment, commonly known as a spirometer.

“This is the body box. Once the person sits inside, we close the door, creating a controlled vacuum. The patient blows into the machine, and we get detailed readings of lung performance,” he said.

The test takes 10 to 15 minutes and costs Rs 2,499 — similar to other hospitals in the region offering lung-screening packages.

Hospitals said many people — particularly young professionals and outdoor workers — are opting for these packages for the first time. They said the test has become a key diagnostic tool this season, helping identify airway obstruction and other pollution-linked changes in lungs before they escalate into emergencies.

At Noida’s Felix Hospital, doctors reported a steady uptick in first-time PFT tests.

“If someone has been experiencing chronic cough, chest pain, breathlessness and wheezing for a couple of days, and has no history of any kind of lung disease, we recommend lung screening tests. We also have been recommending the same to school children these days,” said Dr Priyadarshi J Kumar, Respiratory, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

“Initially, we recommend basic tests, but if the individual complains of breathlessness, we recommend PFT,” he added.

“When we do lung screening for air pollution — which comprises innocuous particles including aerosols — we find inflammation… After the irritant causes persistent inflammation for several days, it becomes chronic. We see young patients worrying about lung cancer due to the rise in pollution levels. Particulate matters are carcinogenic too. Over the years, these can lead to lung cancer,” Dr Kumar cautioned.

At Yatharth Hospital in Noida, Dr Vipul Mishra, director, Critical Care and Pulmonology, said there has been a 40% rise in lung-related issues, when compared to the summer. “We ask patients to take a PFT test even if they have no history of any pre-existing lung disease and don’t smoke,” he said. “Apart from PFT, we also ask them to get Chest X-rays, blood tests…”