A low lung function in young adults can increase the risk of having other diseases and premature death
In a study published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine, researchers from Clínic-IDIBAPS and the UB proved a 10% of young adults have a low lung function, which means the lung did not develop well. This enabled researchers identify a group of people with a higher risk of suffering from early chronic diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular problems or diabetes, as well as premature death.
In a study published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine, researchers from Clínic-IDIBAPS and the UB proved a 10% of young adults have a low lung function, which means the lung did not develop well. This enabled researchers identify a group of people with a higher risk of suffering from early chronic diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular problems or diabetes, as well as premature death.
The authors of the article are the lecturer Àlvar Agustí, from the Department of Medicine, director of the Thorax Institute of Hospital Clínic, head of the Inflammation and repair in respiratory illnesses team in IDIBAPS and member of CIBERES; Guillaume Noel, researcher in the same team; Josep Brugada, lecturer in the same department, cardiologist in Hospital Clínic and head of Arrythmias, resynchronization and cardiac imaging team in IDIBAPS; and Rosa Faner, CIBERES researcher in IDIBAPS.
The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the main cause of disability worldwide. So far, it was thought that the main cause in the development of this disease was tobacco. Recent studies, in which researchers from Clínic-IDIBAPS-UB took part, showed there are other lung-development factors to bear in mind in the early stages of life. “An uncommon lung development in the first years of life can show that other body organs have not developed properly either”, says Àlvar Agustí.
Link to the Hospital Clínic article [Catalan]
Article reference:
A. Agustí, G. Noel, J. Brugada, R. Faner. "Lung function in early adulthood and health in later life: a transgenerational cohort analysis". Lancet Respiratory Medicine, December, 2017. Doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(17)30434-4