Lung function testing in children: importance of race and ethnic-specific reference equations

Abstract

Marked differences in lung function occur between children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds even when all known confounders including socioeconomic circumstances have been taken into account. Use of ethnic-specific equations, such as those recently published by the Global Lung Function Initiative, help to minimize such differences, thereby improving the accuracy with which lung disease can be identified and treated during childhood, as well as enabling the true impact of adverse environmental or socioeconomic exposures to be assessed, irrespective of ethnic background. In future, incorporation of ancestry and, within emerging nations undergoing secular changes in anthropometry, sitting height, into normative equations may further improve the accuracy of predicting lung function and hence assessment of disease severity within any given individual.

Keywords::

• body size
• ethnicity
• lung function
• lung function testing

Financial & competing interests disclosure

S Lum is funded by the Wellcome Trust. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.