MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- In young adults, reduced lung capacity is independently associated with a high level of systemic inflammation, which could increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a report published online June 29 in Thorax.
Robert J. Hancox, M.D., of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and colleagues studied about 1,000 New Zealanders at ages 26 and 32.
The researchers found that subjects with lower measures of forced expiratory volume in one second or forced vital capacity were significantly more likely to have higher serum levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation. They also found that these associations were independent of smoking, asthma and body mass index.
"The reasons for the association are unexplained, but the findings indicate that the association between lower lung function and increased inflammation predates the development of either chronic lung disease or clinically significant atherosclerosis," the authors conclude. "The association between poor lung function and cardiovascular disease may be mediated by an inflammatory mechanism."
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