Table 3.

Adjusted yearly change in DL_CO estimated by generalized estimating equations (GEE) of the stratified sample from the general population in Hordaland County, Norway, aged 18–73 years in 1987/88 with follow-up 9 years later

Characteristic at baseline	Estimate	p
DLCO at baseline
At DLCO 9.6	−0.0293
Per 1 unit increase	−0.0325	<0.0001
Age at baseline
At age 45 years	−0.0293
Per 10 years increase	−0.0243	<0.0001
Sex
Men	−0.0293
Women	−0.0162	0.410
Height at baseline
At 170 cm	−0.0293
Per 10 cm increase (at baseline)	0.0240	0.013
Weight at baseline
At 70 kg	−0.0293
Per 1 kg increase	0.0011	0.020
Smoking at baseline		0.001
Never	−0.0293
Ex	−0.0238	0.700
Current	−0.0738	0.002
Pack years smoked before baseline
At 6 pack years	−0.0293
Per 10 pack years increase	−0.0196	0.003
Occupational exposure
No	−0.0293
Yes	0.0146	0.177
Educational level		0.310
Primary school	−0.0293
Secondary school	−0.0443	0.270
Higher education	−0.0304	0.947
FEV1 at baseline
At FEV1 3.6 L	−0.0293
Per 1 L increase	0.0235	0.013

DL_CO, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide in mmol·min⁻¹·kpa⁻¹; FEV₁, forced expiratory volume in 1 second.