Normal spirometric values in healthy Hispanic Americans.

FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75% were measured in 259 (116 men and 143 women) healthy nonsmoking Hispanic American volunteers from Utah and California. Linear regression equations were created for women greater than or equal to age 20 years and men greater than or equal to age 25 years using height, age, and weight as independent variables and the spirometric indices as dependent variables. Weight was a significant predictor only for female FEV1. The raw data from this study were compared with data from our previous studies in North American Indians and Salt Lake City whites with Middle European ethnic backgrounds. No differences were found for any of the age and height coefficients. The only differences found were in the comparisons of the equation intercepts (bias) for male FVC and FEV1 between data for the Salt Lake City white subjects and both Hispanic American and North American Indian men. These small biases could be explained by technical or sampling biases or they may represent small ethnic differences. Although the differences from our Salt Lake City study are small, we recommend that ethnic-specific equations be used where they are available.