Ventilatory function in normal Saudi Arabian adults. Observations and comparison with some Western and Eastern reference values.

Ventilatory function was studied in healthy non-smoking Saudi Arabian adult males from Riyadh area, and findings compared with those of some Western and Eastern populations. It was found that while the FVC and FEV1 in our subjects were lower than in American, Canadian, Jordanian, and Hongkong Chinese, these were higher than in Indian and Singapore Chinese. Most parameters of expiratory flowrate (e.g. PEF, MEF75, MEF50), however, were equal to or higher in our subjects than in American, Canadian, and Jordanian, as well as Indian and Chinese subjects. Compared to the findings in normal subjects from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, FVC was equal to, but FEV1 and FEF 25-75 were higher in our subjects.