ArticleInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease2012
Diagnosis of airway obstruction in the elderly: contribution of the SARA study.
Article in International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Relationship between Multimorbidity and Quality of Life in a Primary Care Setting: The Mediating Role of Dyspnea.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Interstitial Lung Disease in Elderly Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.Drugs & aging · 2020Review
- Impact of thyroid hormones on asthma in older adults.The Journal of international medical research · 2019Article
- Joint Indian Chest Society-National College of Chest Physicians (India) guidelines for spirometry.Lung India : official organ of Indian Chest Society · 2019Article
- Club cell protein 16 (Cc16) deficiency increases inflamm-aging in the lungs of mice.Physiological reports · 2018Article
- Late-onset asthma: current perspectives.Journal of asthma and allergy · 2018Review
- Aging Airways: between Normal and Disease. A Multidimensional Diagnostic Approach by Combining Clinical, Functional, and Imaging Data.Aging and disease · 2017Review
- Late-Onset Asthma: A Diagnostic and Management Challenge.Drugs & aging · 2017Article
- An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report: Evaluation and Management of Asthma in the Elderly.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2016Article
- Evaluation of Individuals at Risk for COPD: Beyond the Scope of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease.Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.) · 2016Review
- A review of national guidelines for management of COPD in Europe.The European respiratory journal · 2016Review
- GOLD and the fixed ratio.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2012Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe choice between lower limit of normal or fixed value of forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio (FEV(1)/FVC) < 0.70 as the criterion for confirming airway obstruction is an open issue. In this study, we compared the criteria of lower limit of normal and fixed FEV(1)/FVC for diagnosis of airway obstruction, with a focus on healthy elderly people.
methodsWe selected 367 healthy nonsmoking subjects aged 65-93 years from 1971 participants in the population-based SARA (Salute Respiratoria nell'Anziano, Italian for "Respiratory Health in the Elderly") study, analyzed their spirometric data, and tested the relationship between spirometric indices and anthropometric variables. The lower limit of normal for FEV(1)/FVC was calculated as the fifth percentile of the normal distribution for selected subjects.
resultsWhile FEV(1) and FVC decreased significantly with aging, the relationship between FEV(1)/FVC and age was not statistically significant in men or women. The lower limit of normal for FEV(1)/FVC was 0.65 in men and 0.67 in women. Fifty-five participants (15%) had FEV(1)/FVC < 0.70 and would have been inappropriately classified as obstructed according to the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease, American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society, and Canadian guidelines on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. By applying different FEV(1)/FVC thresholds for the different age groups, as previously proposed in the literature, (0.70 for <70 years, 0.65 for 70-80 years, and 0.60 for >80 years) the percentage of patients classified as obstructed decreased to 6%. No subjects older than 80 years had an FEV(1)/FVC < 0.60.
conclusionThe present results confirm the inadequacy of FEV(1)/FVC < 0.70 as a diagnostic criterion for airway obstruction after the age of 65 years. FEV(1)/FVC < 0.65 and <0.67 (for men and women, respectively) could identify subjects with airway obstruction in such a population. Further reduction of the threshold after 80 years is not justified.
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