TABLE 3—

Physical Function and Peak Expiratory Flow Among Women in the Health Supplement to the Women’s Employment Study (WES-HS) and National Reference Populations

	Physical Functioning (SF-36)			Peak Expiratory Flow, %a
Age, y	US Normb	WES-HS	P	Normalc ( > 80% of US Norm)	Moderate Problem (60%–80% of US Norm)	Severe Problem (< 60% of US Norm)
18–24	90.2	82.4
24–34	89.1	83.3	<.05
34–44	88.1	74.7	<.05
44–54	82.9	60.2	<.05
20–29				67	29	4
30–39				53	34	13
40–56				48	44	8

Note. SF-36 = Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form health survey.21

^aNumbers are percentages of women in the WES-HS who exhibited the indicated peak expiratory flows.

^bNorms from baseline Medical Outcomes Study22 (n = 2471), by age.

^cNorms based on height and age.23