FEV1 AND FVC
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Hello, Can you please help me. I have recently read a medical report off my GP to a future employer (hopefully!). I suffer from mild asthma and the report says that my FEV1 is 3.34 and my FVC is 4.41. I am a male of 24 years and i weigh 68kg also my height is 171cm. Any info would be appreciated thanks.
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An individuals predicted lung function depends on age, height, sex and race. The standard equations predict for the first three, correction for race is more problematical. Black Africans have longer legs and shorter chests compared with a white european of the same height. Since the lungs are in the chest Black Africans have lung volumes about 15% less than white europeans. Values for asiatic races are intermediate.
In healthy workers there is a wide range of lung function for individuals of the same age, sex and height. Values over 80% predicted for FEV1 and FVC are generally regarded as being within normal limits. Some individuals just have small lungs for no obvious reasons, however they should have a normal fev1/fvc ratio. Your values are about 80% predicted for FEV1 and about 90% predicted for FVC (assuming that you are a white european) with and FEV1/FVC ratio of 76% (predicted for you is 85%). This suggests a degree of airways obstruction which is likely to be due to your asthma and should improve with regular asthma treatment.
Other causes of airway obstruction would include smoking.
There are very few jobs which asthmatics should definitely not do. In particular you should not do a job with an exposure to a substance to which you are already allergic. Many employers are worried that asthmatics will take more time off work than a non asthmatic, particularly following common events such as a cold. Time off work in mild to moderate asthma can usually be prevented by regular treatment, including an inhaled corticosteriod (usually a brown, red or orange inhaler).
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