title: Age and bronchial hyperresponsiveness are associated with failure to perform the single breath N2 test in a rural female population.
abstract: Because some authors have reported high rates of failure in performing the single breath N2 (SBN2) test in rural areas, the present study aimed at evaluating its acceptability in a female population, unfamiliar with lung function testing, in a rural area of northeastern France. Two hundred ninety-eight women from a rural area volunteered for a preventive medicine examination (91.6% of those invited); four of them were excluded for clinical reasons, and six (2%) were unable to perform spirometry. The protocol included completion of a questionnaire, spirometry with a bronchial reactivity test, skin prick test, and the SBN2 test utilizing a computerized assembly. Although failures caused by the apparatus were few (n = 7, 2.4%) 96 of 281 women (34.1%) were unable to produce two valid SBN2 tests in a series of six attempts. Compared with the group who succeeded in the test (n = 185), women who failed were older and had a higher prevalence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Logistic regression confirmed the independent association of these two variables with an inability to perform. We conclude that in a female population completely unfamiliar with lung function testing the SBN2 test has a high rate of failure associated with higher age and the presence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
authors: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Unité 420, B.P. 184, 54505 Vandoeuvre-Lès-Nancy Cedex, France.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Teculescu
authors: A B
authors: AB
authors: Bohadana
authors: S E
authors: SE
authors: Megherbi
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Costantino
authors: Q T
authors: QT
authors: Pham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001944:Breath Tests; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D013147:Spirometry