The effect of age on arterial--alveolar nitrogen difference in normal adults

The arterio--alveolar nitrogen difference (aADN2) has been associated in 27 normal adult subjects aged 20--60 years. As it may be assumed that venous and arterial PN2 are identical, we have used a sample of venous blood. There is a significant positive correlation between aADN2 and age. As the increase of aADN2 with age resembles that found in the literature for AaDO2, we concluded that the latter may be explained by increasing VA/Qc inequality within the lung.