Steady state measurements of the diffusing capacity of the lung are made at operational lung volume, whereas measurements by the breath-holding method are customarily made at full inspiration. The effect of lung inflation on diffusing capacity must be taken into account before the steady state and breath-holding methods can be validly compared. At rest the single breath diffusing capacity of th...

Chronic exposure to tobacco smoking may damage lung and heart function. The aim of this study was to assess maximal exercise capacity and its relationship with lung function in apparently healthy smokers. We recruited 15 heavy smokers (age 47 years ± 7, BMI 25 kg/m(2) ± 3, pack/years 32 ± 9) without any cardiovascular or pulmonary signs and symptoms. Fifteen healthy non smoking subjects were en...

PURPOSE COPD is a progressive disease, which can take different routes, leading to great heterogeneity. The aim of the post-hoc analysis reported here was to perform continuous analyses of advanced lung function measurements, using linear and nonlinear regressions. PATIENTS AND METHODS Fifty-one COPD patients with mild to very severe disease (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Dis...

BACKGROUND Low birth weight is associated with lower values for spirometry in adults but it is not known if birth weight influences other measures of pulmonary function. It is also unclear whether postnatal growth affects adult lung function. The associations between birth weight, postnatal growth and adult lung function were assessed in an unselected birth cohort of 1037 children. METHODS Bi...

abstract background: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) is currently the fourth cause of mortality worldwide. patients with copd experience periods of dyspnea, fatigue, and disability, which impact on their life. the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of short‑term inspiratory muscle training on exercise capacity, exertional dyspnea, and pulmonary lung function. mat...

INTRODUCTION There is growing evidence that exercise-induced variation in lung volumes is an important source of ventilatory limitation and is linked to exercise intolerance in COPD. The aim of this study was to compare the correlations of walk distance and lung volumes measured before and after a 6-min walk test (6MWT) in subjects with COPD. METHODS Forty-five subjects with stable COPD (mean...

Although the relationship between muscle strength and exercise capacity has been demonstrated in dermatomyositis without lung dysfunction, little is known about the association between exercise capacity and interstitial lung disease in dermatomyositis. Eleven patients with dermatomyositis with interstitial lung disease without the manifestation of muscle weakness and 12 patients with idiopathic...