ArticlePloS one2018
Absolute lung size and the sex difference in breathlessness in the general population.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence, risk factors and treatments for post-COVID-19 breathlessness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022Pooled it
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- Respiratory symptoms and exercise responses among adult E-cigarette users with and without obesity.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Clinical predictors of impaired pulmonary diffusing capacity in patients recovering from COVID-19: A secondary analysis of multicentre datasets.Canadian journal of respiratory therapy : CJRT = Revue canadienne de la therapie respiratoire : RCTR · 2026Article
- Quality of life associated with breathlessness in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study: A cross-sectional analysis.Pulmonology · 2025Article
- Elevated risk of dyspnea in pediatric patients three months after pulmonary embolism.Respiratory medicine · 2025Article
- Sex-differences in the multidimensional evaluation of dyspnea in respiratory outpatients.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Exertional breathlessness related to medical conditions in middle-aged people: the population-based SCAPIS study of more than 25,000 men and women.Respiratory research · 2024Article
- Factors most strongly associated with breathlessness in a population aged 50-64 years.ERJ open research · 2024Article
- Prevalence, severity and impacts of breathlessness in Indian adults: An exploratory, nationally representative, cross-sectional online survey.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Sex-differences in COPD: from biological mechanisms to therapeutic considerations.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Review
- Breathlessness limiting exertion in very old adults: findings from the Newcastle 85+ study.Age and ageing · 2023Article
- Short-Term Exposure to PMToxics · 2023Article
- Determinants of recovery from post-COVID-19 dyspnoea: analysis of UK prospective cohorts of hospitalised COVID-19 patients and community-based controls.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2023Article
- Sex, gender and the pulmonary physiology of exercise.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022Review
- Article
- Prevalence and severity of differing dimensions of breathlessness among elderly males in the population.ERJ open research · 2022Article
- Breathlessness dimensions association with physical and mental quality of life: the population based VASCOL study of elderly men.BMJ open respiratory research · 2021Article
- Clinical course of asymptomatic malignant pleural effusion in non-small cell lung cancer patients: A multicenter retrospective study.Medicine · 2021Observational
- Dyspnoea and symptom burden in mild-moderate COPD: the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease Study.ERJ open research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBreathlessness is associated with major adverse health outcomes and is twice as common in women as men in the general population. We evaluated whether this is related to their lower absolute lung volumes.
methodsCross-sectional analysis of the population-based Swedish CardioPulmonarybioImage Study (SCAPIS) Pilot, including static spirometry and diffusing capacity (n = 1,013; 49% women). Breathlessness was measured using the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale and analyzed using ordinal logistic regression adjusting for age, pack-years of smoking, body mass index, chronic airway limitation, asthma, chronic bronchitis, depression and anxiety in all models.
resultsBreathlessness was twice as common in women as in men; adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.20 (95% confidence interval, 1.32-3.66). Lower absolute lung volumes were associated with increased breathlessness prevalence in both men and women. The sex difference in breathlessness was unchanged when adjusting for lung function in %predicted, but disappeared when controlling for absolute values of total lung capacity (OR 1.12; 0.59-2.15), inspiratory capacity (OR 1.26; 0.68-2.35), forced vital capacity (OR 0.84; 0.42-1.66), forced expiratory volume in one second (OR 0.70; 0.36-1.35) or lung diffusing capacity (OR 1.07; 0.58-1.97).
conclusionIn the general population, the markedly higher prevalence of breathlessness in women is related to their smaller absolute lung volumes.
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