Determinants of Longitudinal Change of Lung Function in Different Gender in a Large Taiwanese Population Follow-Up Study Categories: Original Investigation

Jiun-Hung Geng,Chia-Heng Chang,Jiun-Chi Huang,Pei-Yu Wu,Szu-Chia Chen,Da-Wei Wu

doi:10.3390/jpm11101033

Abstract

Chronic lung disease is associated with tremendous social and economic burden worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the sex-specific risk factors for changes in lung function in a large longitudinal study. We included 9059 participants from the Taiwan Biobank. None of the participants had a history of smoking, asthma, emphysema or bronchitis. Lung function was assessed using spirometry measurements of forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Change in the FEV1/FVC (ΔFEV1/FVC) was calculated as a follow-up FEV1/FVC minus baseline FEV1/FVC. Linear regression analysis was used to identify associations between variables and ΔFEV1/FVC in the male and female participants. After multivariable adjustments, the male participants (vs. females; p = 0.021) were significantly associated with a low ΔFEV1/FVC. In addition, the male participants with low aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (p = 0.003), high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (p = 0.006) and a low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (p = 0.003) were significantly associated with a low ΔFEV1/FVC. For the female participants, low systolic blood pressure (p = 0.005), low diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.031), low AST (p < 0.001), high ALT (p < 0.001) and a low eGFR (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with a low ΔFEV1/FVC. In this large follow-up study, we found that the male participants had a faster decrease in the FEV1/FVC than the female participants. In addition, liver and renal functions were correlated with changes in lung function in both the male and female participants. Our findings provide useful information on sex-specific changes in lung function.

Highlights

Non-communicable disease has evolved, with growing sufferers and economic burden in modern society, and is characterized by high industrialization and an aging population [1]
Regarding lung function, compared to the male participants, the female participants had a lower forced vital capacity (FVC) at baseline, lower FVC at follow-up, lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at baseline, lower FEV1 at follow-up, lower
We found that the male participants had a faster decrease in FEV1/FVC than the female participants

Summary

Introduction

Non-communicable disease has evolved, with growing sufferers and economic burden in modern society, and is characterized by high industrialization and an aging population [1]. Among the most notable pathologies, such as cardiovascular diseases, malignant neoplasms, diabetes, pulmonary and mental disorders, chronic respiratory disease was the third leading cause of death in 2017, behind cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms [2] Facing these global public health challenges has demanded economic research, budget and policy making and population surveys, as well as many points of view that need to be tailored for each nation [1,3]. At a molecular level, increased chemical cross-linking of collagen, which is a major component of the lungs, has been reported [4] Elastin, another major component of the lungs, has been shown to decrease in the alveolar walls [5]. From the aspect of lung function, a decline in lung function has been observed in older adults [8]

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