JAMA internal medicine
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JAMA internal medicine · Sep 2015
Multicenter Study Observational StudyClinical and Radiologic Disease in Smokers With Normal Spirometry.
Airflow obstruction on spirometry is universally used to define chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and current or former smokers without airflow obstruction may assume that they are disease free. ⋯ Lung disease and impairments were common in smokers without spirometric COPD. Based on these results, we project that there are 35 million current and former smokers older than 55 years in the United States who may have unrecognized disease or impairment. The effect of chronic smoking on the lungs and the individual is substantially underestimated when using spirometry alone.