Quality of spirometric performance in older people.

Objectives: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma are major causes of hospitalisation and mortality among older patients but respiratory diseases are often under- or misdiagnosed because spirometry is not extensively used at this age.

Design: we examined 715 elderly subjects with respiratory symptoms; all underwent a spirometric test and were administered the Mini Mental State Examination, Activities of Daily Living, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Geriatric Depression Scale questionnaires for cognitive, functional and effective evaluation. Their educational level and Body Mass Index were also taken into consideration.