To evaluate methods used to document changes in airway function during and after exercise, we studied nine subjects with exercise-induced asthma and five subjects without asthma. Airway function was assessed from measurements of pulmonary resistance (RL) and forced expiratory vital capacity maneuvers. In the asthmatic subjects, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) fell 24 +/- 14% and RL incre...

The distance covered in 12 minutes' walking was used to test exercise tolerance in chronic bronchitis. The distance covered bore a poor relation to the forced expiratory volume in 1 second but a significant relation to the forced vital capacity and the maximum oxygen consumption and ventilation on a bicycle ergometer. The test may be a simple practical guide to everyday disability in chronic br...

The effects of semi-annual and 3.5 yr mean ozone (O3) concentrations on children's forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were assessed over a study period of 3.5 yrs in 2,153 schoolchildren from 15 study sites in South Western Germany and Lower Austria. Spirometric parameters were assessed twice a year, and differences between consecutive measurements div...

A six year follow up study of 750 aluminium smelter workers was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between the leucocyte count at the start of the study and the rate of decline in lung function. An inverse relationship between the leucocyte count and the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) was present cross sectionally irrespective of cigarette smo...

AIM To assess the impact of the Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT) on medication use in asthma. METHODS A blinded randomised controlled trial comparing BBT with control was conducted in 38 people with asthma aged between 18 and 70. Participants were followed for six months following the intervention. Medication use and indices of ventilatory function were recorded. RESULTS No significant cha...

Ventilatory capacities of 73 Libyan men working in the Asbestos-Cement Pipe factory in Jenzur, a residential area near Tripoli, Libya and those of 73 age-matched healthy Libyan men unexposed to asbestos were determined. The mean values of forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) for men unexposed to asbestos were 3.89 +/- 0.084 and 3.64 +/- 0.082 liters respec...

The results of ventilatory function tests (FVC, FEV1, and FEV %) depend to a great extent on age and height. In epidemiological investigations, the main purpose of which is to analyse the influence of environmental factors on lung function in the population, it is therefore necessary to use multiple regression methods. This form of statistical analysis is difficult and laborious when there is n...

OBJECTIVES We examined the relationship between childhood and adult socioeconomic position (SEP) and objectively assessed, later-life functioning. METHODS We used the Medical Research Council's National Survey of Health and Development data to examine performance at 60 to 64 years (obtained in 2006-2011) for a representative UK sample. We compared 9 physical and cognitive performance measures...

BACKGROUND Spirometry is a valuable technique for evaluating pulmonary function, but there were few normative reference values for young children in Taiwan, and none for the last 10 years. The objective of our study was to establish updated reference values and equations for children aged 6-11 years in northern Taiwan. METHODS A total of 309 healthy children (153 boys and 156 girls) were enro...

Forty-five patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were studied to compare the acute effects of ipratropium bromide (60 µg), salbutamol (300 µg) and placebo (3 puffs) on the forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV 1) and forced vital capacity (PVC). Ipratropium bromide produced a significantly greater improvement than salbutamol in both FEV1 and FVC at 15,60 and 180 minutes afte...