Heraganahally, Subash

Howarth, Timothy

Sorger, Lisa

Ben Saad, Helmi

2022-02-08

BACKGROUND: Studies assessing normative values and sex differences in pulmonary function test parameters (PFTPs) among Indigenous populations are sparse. METHODS: PFTPs were compared between male and female Indigenous Australian adults with and without chest radiologically proven chronic airway diseases (CADs). RESULTS: 485 adults (56% were female) with no significant difference in age, body mass index or smoking status between sexes were included. Females displayed a higher prevalence of radiology without CADs compared to males (66 vs. 52%, respectively). Among patients without CADs, after adjustment for age, stature and smoking, males displayed significantly higher absolute values of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) (mean difference, 0.41L (0.21,0.62), p<0.001) and Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) (mean difference 0.27L (0.07,0.47), p<0.001), with no significant difference in FEV1/FVC ratio (mean difference -0.02 (-0.06, 0.02), p = 0.174). Male and female patients with radiologically proven CADs demonstrated lower FEV1/FVC values. However, compared to females, males showed significantly greater reductions in pre- [-0.53 (-0.74, -0.32) vs. -0.29 (-0.42, -0.16), p = 0.045] and post- [-0.51 (-0.72, -0.3) vs. -0.27 (-0.39, -0.14), p = 0.049] bronchodilator FEV1. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant sex differences in the PFTPs among Indigenous Australians. Recognising these differences may be of value in the accurate diagnosis, management, monitoring and prognostication of CADs in this population.

Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Flinders University - College of Medicine and Public Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Darwin Respiratory and Sleep Health, Darwin Private Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

College of Health and Human Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Department of Medical Imaging, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Faculty of Medicine of Sousse, Laboratory of Physiology, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.

Farhat HACHED Hospital, Research Laboratory "Heart Failure, LR12SP09", University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.

PLoS One. 2022 Feb 8;17(2):e0263744. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263744. eCollection 2022.

0000-0003-0788-7137

0000-0001-5470-1118

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35134094/?otool=iaurydwlib

https://hdl.handle.net/10137/12114

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Sex differences in pulmonary function parameters among Indigenous Australians with and without chronic airway disease.

Journal Article

Publication