Golshan M, Nematbakhsh M, Amra B, Crapo RO. Spirometric reference values in a large Middle Eastern population. Eur Respir J. 2003; 22: 529-534.
Authors’ correction. Eur Respir J 2004; 23: 356.

Ethnic differences in pulmonary function have been frequently reported. he purposes of this study were to derive equations for the prediction of normative pirometry values for a large population of Persians in Isfahan and compare them to eference values from a White Euro-USA population.
Spirometry measurements were obtained from 4,341 randomly selected healthy onsmoker subjects in Isfahan, Iran, utilising American Thoracic Society guidelines and  vigorous quality assurance program. Measured data from 3,213 subjects were nalysed using multiple regression techniques to derive prediction equations for pirometric variables; the remaining 1,128 subjects were used as a control group to test he validity of the derived equations. In addition, predicted values were compared with alues derived from recently published equations for the USA.
Derived prediction equations showed good performance for most spirometric parameters. ompared with USA Whites, adult Persians have minimally lower forced vital apacities, while the values for children are close to USA Whites.
In comparison with reference equations based on European or USA populations, local eference values are more biologically and technically suitable for the interpretation of pirometric data from Iranian populations.