Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Oct;15(5):294-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.pcrj.2006.07.002. Epub 2006 Sep 15.

The FEV1/FEV6 ratio is a good substitute for the FEV1/FVC ratio in the elderly

Hasse Melbye  1 , Astri Medbø, Alan Crockett
Affiliations

The FEV1/FEV6 ratio is a good substitute for the FEV1/FVC ratio in the elderly

Hasse Melbye et al. Prim Care Respir J. 2006 Oct.

Abstract

Aims: To determine the agreement between the FEV1/FEV6 ratio and the FEV1/FVC ratio in an elderly population.

Method: The study sample consisted of 3874 participants in a cross-sectional population survey in Tromsö, Norway, aged 60 years or more, in whom acceptable spirometry had been obtained. Mean differences between the FEV1/FEV6 ratio (%) and the FEV1/FVC ratio (%) were calculated according to age, sex, smoking habit, and the degree of airflow limitation. ROC-curve analysis and Kappa-statistics were used to estimate the utility of the FEV1/FEV6 ratio in predicting an FEV1/FVC ratio < 70%.

Results: The mean difference between FEV1/FEV6% and FEV1/FVC% was 2.7% in both men and women. The difference between the two measures increased somewhat with increasing age, and was more pronounced with smoking and decreasing FEV1/FVC ratio. The value for the FEV1/FEV6 ratio which best predicted an FEV1/FVC ratio of 70%, was 73%, and a very good agreement was found between these two cut-off values (kappa = 0.86).

Conclusion: The FEV1/FEV6 ratio appears to be a good substitute for the FEV1/FVC ratio in an elderly population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Are six seconds long enough?
    Enright PL. Enright PL. Prim Care Respir J. 2006 Oct;15(5):268-70. doi: 10.1016/j.pcrj.2006.07.004. Epub 2006 Sep 14. Prim Care Respir J. 2006. PMID: 16973417 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Publication types