The present study was undertaken in order to (l) evaluate whether peripheral airway disorders as detected by frequency dependence of compliance was present in asymptomatic smokers whose routine pulmonary function tests are otherwise normal and to (2) evaluate the differences in the mechanics of breathing in young smokers and relatively aged smokers. We selected 29 healthy male subjects, who were classified in three groups.(l) Eight young students (age: 20±1) who had never smoked. (2) Twelve young students (age: 20±1) who had smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day for 1 to 3 years. (3) Nine middle-aged subjects (age: 39±6) who had smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day for more than 10 years.
Airway resistance, VC and TLC and FEV1.0 did not reveal any consistent difference between the smokers and the non-smokers. The static deflation P-V curves in young smokers and nonsmokers were identical, and those of middle aged smokers also remained within the normal limits.
Dynamic compliance was measured at several breathing frequencies up to 2Hz (120 breaths/minute), and was related to the slope of the inspiratory static P-V curve at the same lung volume range (about 1l), expressed as a Cdyn(l)/Cst(l) ratio. At and above 0.5Hz, the Cdyn(l)/Cst(l) ratio was significantly lower in both young and aged smokers.
The Cdyn(l)/Cst(l) ratio, measured at lower lung volumes (1l lower resting level) showed more frequency dependence in middle-aged smokers than in young smokers, presumably as a result of small airway closure increasing linearly with age.
We interpret the occurence of frequency dependent compliance in the presence of normal airway resistance and static compliance to mean that these are structural changes in peripheral airways of asymptomatic smokers even in a young college-age group.
Maximum expiratory flow at 10% of the vital capacity (V10) decreased significantly in smokers, and the decreased V10 was exaggerated in middle-aged smokers. Also the V50V25 ratio (Takishima et al. 1972), which expresses the shape at the end of the V-V curve, indicates a significant difference between smokers and non-smokers. MMF significantly decreased in middle-aged smokers.
The decrease of maximum flow at lower volumes of vital capacity also indicates that airways upstream from the flow limiting segment (peripheral airways) have increased resistance in smokers, since no changes in the elastic properties of the lung were demonstrated.
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