Do the Global Lung Function Initiative 2012 equations fit my population?

Knowing whether a patient's lung function result is similar to what can be expected of a healthy individual is critical for the correct interpretation of pulmonary function test results. Since lung function changes with growth and ageing and differs according to sex and ethnicity, there are now >300 published reference equations available for spirometry alone. Consequently, individual pulmonary function laboratories are left with a challenging decision: which reference equation do I choose? While it is recommended that reference equations are population specific, there are obvious logistical challenges to collect normative data from a large and representative population such that the resulting range of normal values are not biased. No reference equation applies universally: default equations should not be used without considering potential biases <http://ow.ly/29XB304sRrm>