Occupational Exposures and Chronic Airflow Limitation

Decline in FEV1 and airflow limitation related to occupational exposures in men of an urban community.

The purpose of this survey was to evaluate the effects of smoking and occupational exposures on the decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and the presence of airflow limitation (FEV1 x100/forced vital capacity (FVC) being < 65) at follow-up. A random sample of 1,933 men aged 22-54 years in Bergen, Norway, were invited into the survey. Smoking habits and measurements of FEV1 ...

Measuring health status in chronic airflow limitation.

A health status instrument for use in clinical trials must be valid (measuring what it is supposed to measure) and responsive (able to detect clinically important change). Approaches to measuring health status in clinical trials include using a battery of instruments, a general instrument which provides a profile of the patient's health, an instrument that generates a health utility, or an inst...

Airflow Limitation and Spirometry

Airflow limitation and airway dimensions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation caused by emphysema and/or airway narrowing. Computed tomography has been widely used to assess emphysema severity, but less attention has been paid to the assessment of airway disease using computed tomography. OBJECTIVES To obtain longitudinal images and accurately analyze short axis images of airw...

Chronic airflow limitation in developing countries: burden and priorities

Respiratory disease has never received priority in relation to its impact on health. Estimated DALYs lost in 2002 were 12% globally (similar for industrialized and developing countries). Chronic airflow limitation (due mainly to asthma and COPD) alone affects more than 100 million persons in the world and the majority of them live in developing countries. International guidelines for management...