It's only "not controversial" if you lack curiosity. Why do blacks have lower results on pulmonary function tests? Could it be due to obesity?
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Could it be due to less exercise?
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Relative lack of aerobic fitness?
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
All of the above?
ajrccm.atsjournals.org
What about the fact that asthma is much more common among African Americans? This is due, in large part, to increased pollution in inner cities, including exposure to cockroaches!
blackhealthcare.com
(My niece, who is Caucasian, suffers from terrible asthma, and is also allergic to cockroaches.)
Actually, some medical experts think it is controversial, because adjusting for actual physiology gives more accurate results than adjusting for sex or race.
"Dr. Celli made an impassioned plea for a uniform physiologic criterion for diagnosis of COPD that could be applied around the world; and suggested that it be a ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1):forced vital capacity (FVC) of < 0.7. This has the advantage of simplicity, as it eliminates the complex calculations required by racial and gender corrections that are a part of many guidelines; it may overestimate "disease" in athletes with large FVC and in the obese with small FVC. Nevertheless, as a screening test, it would be readily assessable to anyone with a spirometer."
medscape.com
medscape.com
COPD is the #4 cause of death in the US. Unlike the first 3 (heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular disease), deaths from COPD are increasing rather than declining.
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