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Spirometry reference equations for central European populations from school age to old age
Mascha K Rochat1, Ruediger P Laubender, Daniela Kuster
1Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany. wehntaler@gmail.com
Background:
Spirometry reference values are important for the interpretation of spirometry results. Reference values should be updated regularly, derived from a population as similar to the population for which they are to be used and span across all ages. Such spirometry reference equations are currently lacking for central European populations.
Objective:
To develop spirometry reference equations for central European populations between 8 and 90 years of age.
Materials:
We used data collected between January 1993 and December 2010 from a central European population. The data was modelled using "Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape" (GAMLSS).
Results:
The spirometry reference equations were derived from 118'891 individuals consisting of 60'624 (51%) females and 58'267 (49%) males. Altogether, there were 18'211 (15.3%) children under the age of 18 years.
Conclusion:
We developed spirometry reference equations for a central European population between 8 and 90 years of age that can be implemented in a wide range of clinical settings.
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