How to Calculate Lung Age
- 1). Visit your doctor to have a spirometry test performed or purchase a hand-held spirometer for at-home use. The test consists of either sitting in a clear enclosure and breathing into a mouthpiece or simply breathing nitrogen or helium gas through a tube for a period of time. You may experience shortness of breath or lightheadedness, but no other side effects should occur and completing the test takes little time.
- 2). Obtain the results of the test from your doctor or at-home testing device. This will be given as a percentage and based on various factors such as your age and gender. Results close to 100 percent are best, with those falling at 80 percent or above considered normal.
- 3). Calculate your lung age based on the results of your test. The formula to calculate predicted results for a given age is below---one for males and one for females. Use this same formula to calculate lung age by simply plugging the results of the spirometry test into this same equation and solving for age.
Males: FEV1 = 0.0414 x height (cm) -- 0.0244 x age (yr) -- 3.59
Females: FEV1 = 0.0342 x height (cm) -- 0.0255 x age (yr) -- 1.578
Source...