Generational changes in lung function in adults from several world regions: results from the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study

This study estimated birth cohort effects on lung function using BOLD (Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease) data from 28 569 adults born between 1902 and 1976 across 41 sites in 34 countries. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) and the FEV 1 /FVC increased across successive birth cohorts in both high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with mean values rising steadily with later birth year. In fully adjusted models, FVC increased by 21.4 mL, FEV 1 by 24.6 mL and FEV 1 /FVC by 0.25% per birth year. These positive associations were consistent across sex, smoking status and country-income subgroups (HICs and LMICs).

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Thorax
Published
2026-09-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2026-225173
Primary Topic
Delphi Technique in Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
article

Generational changes in lung function in adults from several world regions: results from the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study

Rain Jögi, Peter Burney, Asaad Nafees, Dr Dhiraj Agarwal et al.
Thorax
Delphi Technique in Research
article

Generational changes in lung function in adults from several world regions: results from the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study

Rain Jögi, Peter Burney, Asaad Nafees, Dr Dhiraj Agarwal, Valentina Quintero Santofimio, Kevin Mortimer, Andre Amaral, João Cardoso, Terence Seemungal, Gregory Erhabor, Parvaiz Koul, Michael Studnicka, Sanjay Juvekar, Meriam Denguezli, Abdul Rashid, Daniel Obaseki, Mohammed El Biaze, Thorarinn Gislason, Ali Kocabas, James Potts, Jixuan Ma, Hermínia Brites Dias, Rune Nielsen, Padukudru Mahesh, David Mannino, Rana Ahmed, Fátima Rodrigues, Cristina Barbara, Frits Franssen, Christer Janson
article en

Abstract

This study estimated birth cohort effects on lung function using BOLD (Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease) data from 28 569 adults born between 1902 and 1976 across 41 sites in 34 countries. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) and the FEV 1 /FVC increased across successive birth cohorts in both high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with mean values rising steadily with later birth year. In fully adjusted models, FVC increased by 21.4 mL, FEV 1 by 24.6 mL and FEV 1 /FVC by 0.25% per birth year. These positive associations were consistent across sex, smoking status and country-income subgroups (HICs and LMICs).

Thorax
Aga Khan University (PK), RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus (MY), Reykjavík University (IS), Uppsala University (SE), University of Lisbon (PT), University of British Columbia (CA), University of Kentucky (US), University of Liverpool (GB), University of Iceland (IS), University of Monastir (TN), Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa (PT), Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (IN), Paracelsus Medical University (AT), Maastricht University Medical Centre (NL), Tartu University Hospital (EE), University of the West Indies (TT), Aintree University Hospital (GB), Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre (IN), Unidade Local de Saúde de São José (PT), Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune (IN), Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations (FR), National University Hospital of Iceland (IS), NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (GB), Administração Regional de Saúde de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (PT), Instituto de Saúde (BR), Agence pour le Développement et la Réhabilitation de la Ville de Fès (MA), Hospital de Santa Maria (PT), University of Bergen (NO), Obafemi Awolowo University (NG), Imperial College London (GB), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN), Cukurova University (TR), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT), University of Sousse (TN), JSS Medical College and Hospital (IN), University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA)
No poverty
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Delphi Technique in Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.