[Respiratory symptoms, diseases and pulmonary ventilatory capacity in persons in the third stage of life].

The study included 622 persons of the third age, 60-94 years old. The subjects were analyzed by age, smoking habits, profession and place of longest residence. In the studied group, there were 27.2% men smokers and 12.6% women smokers. In relation to profession, women were mostly office employees (35.4%) and men were mostly workers (46.9%). Ventilatory capacity was measured by recording maximum expiratory flow-volume on which forced vital capacity (FVC), one second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), and maximum expiratory flow rates at 50% and the last 25% of vital capacity were read (FEF50' FEF25). All respiratory symptoms were significantly more prevalent in smokers than in nonsmokers. The highest prevalence was found for chronic cough in men (31.1%) and in women (30.1%) as well as for dyspnea in women (54.7%) and in men (43.5%). A higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms was found in the age group 60-69 years old than in subjects older than 70 years. Asthma was more prevalent in workers and farmers, which is probably the result of work exposure. Logistic regression analysis of chronic respiratory symptoms and diseases in older men and women by profession, age, place of longest residence and smoking habits did not show statistically significant difference between effects of those variables on the development of respiratory symptoms and disease. The measured values of ventilatory capacity tests were decreased up to 70-79 years of age. After that there is no decrease expressed as a percentage of reference values.