Abstract

We have measured the vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 50 healthy men aged 20 to 25 and 50 aged 55 to 60 years in order to obtain normal values for reference use for pulmonary tests in Greece. We constructed tables of mean and 95% confidence limits for ages 20 to 70 and height 1·5 to 1·9 metres, assuming that these respiratory values vary linearly with age and height. The differences in our results from those obtained in the United States of America and in France show that misinterpretation of pulmonary function tests may result from inappropriate reference values.