Resting Physiological Correlates of Reduced Exercise Capacity in Smokers with Mild Airway Obstruction

slope (r = -0.352, p = 0.005). In smokers with mild airway obstruction, associations between resting tests of mechanics and pulmonary gas exchange and exercise performance parameters were weak, albeit consistent. Among these, DLCO showed the strongest association with important outcomes such as dyspnea and exercise intolerance measured during standardized incremental exercise tests.