Research finds that our lung power peaks in our 20s – which is steadily dropping from there
Our lungs may lose their early motivation earlier than we thought. Today’s research shows that lung function tends to peak in adulthood and gets worse from there.
Scientists at the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (Isglobal) led the study, published Thursday in Lancet Respiratory Medicine. After analyzing data from early population studies, the researchers found that peak lung function is usually achieved in our 20s and is associated with current intelligence – a steady decline with age.
According to Judith Garcia-Aymerich, co-director of the Environment and Health of Isglobal’s Life Lesson Program, let’s say our lungs follow a specific trajectory: They gradually become stronger until we were in the mid-20s, our lungs gradually became stronger, reaching a stable plateau over the next few decades, and then declining with middle-aged age. However, this assumption is based on studies that examine lung function only for a specific period of time, not for a lifetime.
To bridge this knowledge gap, Garcia-Aymeric’s team combined and analyzed data from eight different population studies in Europe and Australia. Together, the studies involved about 30,000 people aged 4 to 82 and measured lung function by mandatory spirometry, which tested people blow out as much air as possible after deep breathing.
The researchers first identified two broad stages of lung development: the stage of rapid growth in early childhood, followed by slower, steady growth in the early 1920s. On average, women reach this peak around the age of 20 and men at 23. Unlike other studies, they failed to find any evidence of periods of lung function stability following this peak.
“Previous models proposed a plateau phase until the age of 40, but our data suggest that lung function begins much earlier than previously thought,” Garcia-Aymeric said in a statement released by Isglobal.
The researchers say the findings are frustrating and may help improve the way in which respiratory health is tracked and maintained.
They found that, for example, certain risk factors for poor lung health, such as asthma and smoking, may affect lung function differently from suspected lung function. Chronic asthma seems to weaken lung health at a very young age, and this weakness persists in a person’s life. On the other hand, smoking seems to have rapidly worsened a person’s lungs since the mid-30s. With this knowledge, the researchers say, it is possible to intervene early.
“Early detection of low lung function may allow interventions to prevent chronic respiratory disease in adulthood,” Garcia-Aymerich said.
While our lungs may not stay sharp as they wish, most people can do things to keep them as healthy as possible, such as regular physical exercise.
