• Zied Affes, Salaheddine Rekik, and Helmi Ben Saad.
• Department of Physiology and Functional Exploration, Farhat HACHED University Hospital of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
• Libyan J Med. 2015 Jan 1; 10 (1): 2894628946.

IntroductionThere is no clear consensus as to what constitutes an obstructive ventilatory defect (OVD): Is it FEV1/FVCAimTo determine, according to the two definitions, the percentage of subjects having an OVD among them explored in a lung function exploration laboratory.Population And MethodsThis is a retrospective study including 4,730 subjects aged 17-85 years. Subjects were divided according to the presence [physio (+) or operat (+)] or absence [physio (-) or operat (-)] of an OVD, and into younger (<45 years, n=2,076), older (≥45 years, n=2,654), smokers (n=1,208), and non-smokers (n=3,522) groups.ResultsFor the total sample, the younger and older groups [mean±SD of age (years), respectively, 46.7±14.1; 33.9±7.4, and 56.8±9.1], the 'physiological definition' detected, respectively, 13.46, 43.22, and 5.09% more OVD than the 'operational one' (p<0.05). In addition, the operational definition, compared with the physiological one, overdiagnosed OVD in 2.33 and 0.44% of smokers and non-smokers, respectively, and underdiagnosed it in 4.46% and 29.72% of smokers and non-smokers, respectively (p<0.05). Compared with the group 'physio (-), operat (+)', the 'physio (+), operat (-)' one was younger (74.2±4.7 years vs. 40.9±10.3 years) and had significantly higher FEV1 (62±13% vs. 78±17%) and FVC (71±15% vs. 93±19%).ConclusionThe frequency of OVD much depends on the criteria used for its definition.

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