Geographical variation in lung function: results from the multicentric cross-sectional BOLD study
Spirometry is used to determine what is “unusual” lung function compared with what is “usual” for healthy non-smokers. This study aimed to investigate regional variation in the forced vital capacity (FVC) and in the forced expiratory volume in one second to FVC ratio (FEV1/FVC) using cross-sectional data from all 41 sites of the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study. Participants (5,368 men; 9,649 women), aged ≥40 years, had performed spirometry, had never smoked and reported no respiratory symptoms or diagnoses. To identify regions with similar FVC, we conducted a principal component analysis (PCA) on FVC with age, age2 and height2, separately for men and women. We regressed FVC against age, age2 and height2, and FEV1/FVC against age and height2, for each sex and site, stratified by region. Mean age was 54 years (both sexes), and mean height was 1.69 m (men) and 1.61 m (women). The PCA suggested four regions: 1) Europe and richer countries; 2) the Near East; 3) Africa; and 4) the Far East. For the FVC, there was little variation in the coefficients for age, or age2, but considerable variation in the constant (men: 2.97 L in the Far East to 4.08 L in Europe; women: 2.44 L in the Far East to 3.24 L in Europe) and the coefficient for height2. Regional differences in the constant and coefficients for FEV1/FVC were minimal (<1%). The relation of FVC with age, sex and height varies across and within regions. The same is not true for the FEV1/FVC ratio.
Funding
GlaxoSmithKline
Pfizer
Boehringer Ingelheim
AstraZeneca
ALTANA
Novartis
Merck
Chiesi
Schering Plough
Sepracor
Boehringer Ingelheim China (GuangZhou, China)
Turkish Thoracic Society
Pfizer (Adana, Turkey)
Boehringer-Ingelheim
Merck Sharpe Dohme
Salzburger Gebietskrankenkasse and Salzburg Local Government (Salzburg, Austria)
Research for International Tobacco Control
International Development Research Centre
South African Medical Research Council
South African Thoracic Society GlaxoSmithKline Pulmonary Research Fellowship
University of Cape Town Lung Institute (Cape Town, South Africa)
Landspitali-University Hospital-Scientific Fund
GlaxoSmithKline Iceland
AstraZeneca Iceland (Reykjavik, Iceland)
GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals
Polpharma
Ivax Pharma Poland
AstraZeneca Pharma Poland
ZF Altana Pharma
Pliva Krakow
Adamed
Novartis Poland
Linde Gaz Polska
Lek Polska
Tarchominskie Zaklady Farmaceutyczne Polfa
Starostwo Proszowice
Skanska
Zasada
Agencja Mienia Wojskowego w Krakowie
Telekomunikacja Polska
Biernacki
Biogran
Amplus Bucki
Skrzydlewski
Sotwin
Agroplon (Cracow, Poland)
Pfizer Germany (Hannover, Germany)
Norwegian Ministry of Healths Foundation for Clinical Research
Haukeland University Hospital’s Medical Research Foundation for Thoracic Medicine (Bergen, Norway)
GlaxoSmithKline (Vancouver, Canada)
Marty Driesler Cancer Project (Lexington, Kentucky)
Boehringer Ingelheim (Phil)
Philippine College of Chest Physicians
Philippine College of Physicians
United Laboratories (Phil) (Manila, Philippines)
Air Liquide Healthcare P/L
AstraZeneca P/L
Boehringer Ingelheim P/L
GlaxoSmithKline Australia P/L
Pfizer Australia P/L (Sydney, Australia)
Department of Health Policy Research Programme
Clement Clarke International (London, UK)
Pfizer (Lisbon, Portugal), Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation
The Swedish Association against Heart and Lung Diseases
Glaxo Smith Kline (Uppsala, Sweden)
Seed Money Grant (PF20/0512)
Aga Khan University
Chiesi Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited (Karachi, Pakistan)
History
Comments
The original article is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/Published Citation
Burney PGJ, et al. Geographical variation in lung function: results from the multicentric cross-sectional BOLD study. Pulmonology. 2025;31(1):2430491.Publication Date
6 December 2024External DOI
PubMed ID
39641354Department/Unit
- RCSI + UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC)
Publisher
Informa UK LimitedVersion
- Published Version (Version of Record)
