Pulmonary Function Is a Long-term Predictor of Mortality in the General Population

Study objectives Results from several studies havedescribed a relationship between pulmonary function and both all-causeand cause-specific mortality. The purpose of this study was toinvestigate the predictive value of pulmonary function by gender after29 years of follow-up. Design Prospective study with29-year follow-up of the Buffalo Health Study cohort. Participants Randomly selected sample of 554 men and 641women, aged 20 to 89 years, from all listed households of the city of, Buffalo, NY. Measurements and results Baselinemeasurements were performed in 1960 to 1961. Pulmonary function wasassessed based on FEV 1 expressed as the normal percentpredicted (FEV 1 % pred). FEV 1 % pred adjusted byage, body mass index, systolic BP, education, and smoking status wasinversely related to all-cause mortality in both men and women(p 25years, we observed a statistically significant negative associationbetween FEV 1 % pred and all-cause mortality. FEV 1 % pred was also inversely related to ischemic heartdisease (IHD) mortality. When participants were divided into quintilesof FEV 1 % pred, participants in the lowest quintile of, FEV 1 % pred experienced significantly higher all-causemortality compared with participants in the highest quintile of, FEV 1 % pred. For the entire follow-up period, the adjustedhazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 2.24 (95% confidenceinterval [CI], 1.60 to 3.13) for men and 1.81 (95% CI, 1.24 to 2.63)for women, respectively. Hazard ratios for death from IHD in the lowestquintile of FEV 1 % pred were 2.11 (95% CI, 1.20 to 3.71)and 1.96 (95% CI, 0.99 to 3.88) for men and women, respectively. Conclusions These results suggest that pulmonary functionis a long-term predictor for overall survival rates in both genders and could be used as a tool in general healthassessment.