Biomarkers · Functional Fitness

Forced Vital Capacity (FVC)

Higher values go with lower risk of death. Not measured in our NHANES panel. The curve is drawn from the published study (source below).

FVC and risk of death

Published curve higher than the NHANES fitNHANES fit higher

Risk of death relative to the curve's reference value, drawn from the published study (source below).

Published risk of death2.03×lowest vs highest quartile of FVC% predicted, males (95% CI 1.30–3.18) · Tsurugaya cohort, Japanese community-dwelling adults aged >=70; estimate for males (females: FVC%pred <80% HR 1.67, 1.05-2.64)

FVC by age and sex

Each bar runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile, the darker part from the 25th to the 75th, and the tick is the median. Not a reference range or a target.

The percentiles as a table

Each row is one sex and age band: the values below which 5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 95% of people fall (L), from the survey named in the row. Not a reference range or a target.
Sex	Age	5th	25th	Median	75th	95th	n	Cycle / source
All	20-39	2.95	3.75	4.42	5.22	6.31	1,623	NHANES 2011-2012
All	40-59	2.45	3.31	3.95	4.77	5.90	1,478	NHANES 2011-2012
All	60-79	2.10	2.66	3.28	4.07	5.36	1,044	NHANES 2011-2012
All	all	2.41	3.31	4.01	4.84	6.07	4,145	NHANES 2011-2012
Men	20-39	3.90	4.60	5.15	5.81	6.60	866	NHANES 2011-2012
Men	40-59	3.38	4.14	4.75	5.29	6.26	717	NHANES 2011-2012
Men	60-79	2.59	3.44	4.16	4.82	5.84	526	NHANES 2011-2012
Men	all	3.29	4.19	4.80	5.45	6.42	2,109	NHANES 2011-2012
Women	20-39	2.77	3.38	3.75	4.18	4.84	757	NHANES 2011-2012
Women	40-59	2.25	2.87	3.39	3.83	4.47	761	NHANES 2011-2012
Women	60-79	1.93	2.45	2.80	3.18	3.59	518	NHANES 2011-2012
Women	all	2.25	2.86	3.41	3.87	4.63	2,036	NHANES 2011-2012

What studies found when this marker was changed

They describe what happened in those study groups, not a recommendation. See all catalogued interventions.

Measured changes in FVC, study by study

5 effects with a numeric size, each from one study arm: the dot is the reported change, the line its 95% interval where one was given. Green points move the marker the way lower risk of death lies; amber the other way. Study results in the groups studied, not predictions for a person.

Each row is one study: what was changed, the effect it reported on this marker, and the source.
Type	Intervention	Reported effect	Evidence	Source
clinical	High-frequency chest wall oscillation applied for 15 days in adults with stable non-cystic-fibrosis bronchiectasis	HFCWO for 15 days improved FVC by 229.1 mL (and FEV1 by 156 mL); other airway clearance techniques showed no effect on dynamic lung volumes	systematic review	Lee AL, Burge AT, Holland AE. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015.
pharmacologic	Nerandomilast 18 mg orally twice daily for 52 weeks in adults with IPF, most on background nintedanib or pirfenidone (FIBRONEER-IPF)	FVC decline at 52 weeks reduced by 68.8 mL (95% CI 30.3-107.4) vs placebo (-114.7 vs -183.5 mL); 9 mg dose +44.9 mL	RCT	Richeldi L, Azuma A, Cottin V, et al. Nerandomilast in Patients with Idiopathic…
pharmacologic	Nerandomilast 18 mg orally twice daily for 52 weeks in adults with progressive pulmonary fibrosis other than IPF (FIBRONEER-ILD)	FVC decline at 52 weeks reduced by 67.2 mL (95% CI 31.9-102.5) vs placebo (-98.6 vs -165.8 mL); 9 mg dose +81.1 mL (46.0-116.3)	RCT	Maher TM, Assassi S, Azuma A, et al. Nerandomilast in Patients with Progressive…
pharmacologic	Inhaled treprostinil 12 breaths four times daily for 52 weeks in adults with IPF, most on background antifibrotic therapy (TETON-2)	Between-group difference in FVC change at week 52 of 95.6 mL (95% CI 52.2-139.0) favouring treprostinil (median -49.9 vs -136.4 mL); clinical worsening HR 0.71	RCT	Nathan SD, Smith P, Deng C, et al. Inhaled Treprostinil for Idiopathic…
pharmacologic	Nintedanib 150 mg orally twice daily for 52 weeks in adults with systemic sclerosis and interstitial lung disease affecting >=10% of the lungs (SENSCIS)	Annual rate of FVC decline reduced by 41.0 mL/year (95% CI 2.9-79.0): -52.4 vs -93.3 mL/year with placebo	RCT	Distler O, Highland KB, Gahlemann M, et al. Nintedanib for Systemic…

What else moves this marker

They describe those study groups, not an individual, and an association is not a cause.

Diseases and conditions

Each row is one study: what it compared and the change it reported in this marker.
What	Effect on the marker	Comparison · population	Source
↓ Previous pulmonary tuberculosis · individuals with past pulmonary TB vs healthy controls	-0.25 L (95% CI -0.33 to -0.17)	prior pulmonary tuberculosis vs controls · 19 studies, 75,960 individuals of whom 7447 had past pulmonary TB	meta analysis · PMID 40412395

Sources

Risk curve: Miyatake 2022 (PMID 36142910): all-cause HR 2.03 (1.3-3.18) lowest vs highest quartile of FVC% predicted, males. Scaled to US values (NHANES).
Miyatake et al. High Mortality in an Older Japanese Population with Low Forced Vital Capacity and Gender-Dependent Potential Impact of Muscle Strength: Longitudinal Cohort Study. Journal of clinical medicine. 2022;11.

Map Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) against another biomarker.

Map FVC against another marker