[Ventilatory function of the lungs in patients with ankylosing spondylitis]

The ventilatory function of the lung was studied in 100 patients (85 men and 15 women) suffering from ankylosing spondylitis. The mean age of the patients was 48 years (range: 29-72) and the mean duration of the disease was 18 years (range: 4-37). In 74% of the cases there was evidence of impaired ventilatory function of the lung. Most of the affected patients exhibited restrictive ventilation disorders (57 or 77%), the incidence of restrictive-obstructive (12 or 16.2%) and obstructive ventilation disorders (5 or 6.8%) being considerably lower. While there were no significant differences in the incidence of restrictive ventilation disorders with respect to the age of the patients (t = 0.84; P greater than 0.05) and the duration of the disease (t = 0.84; P greater than 0.05), a highly significant correlation was found between the functional stage of the disease and the severity of restrictive ventilation impairment (r = 0.46; P less than 0.001).