@article {Pistea00068-2015, author = {Cristina Pistea and Evelyne Lonsdorfer and St{\'e}phane Doutreleau and Monique Oswald and Irina Enache and Anne Charloux}, title = {Maximal aerobic capacity in ageing subjects: actual measurements versus predicted values}, volume = {2}, number = {1}, elocation-id = {00068-2015}, year = {2016}, doi = {10.1183/23120541.00068-2015}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {We evaluated the impact of selection of reference values on the categorisation of measured maximal oxygen consumption (V'O2peak) as {\textquotedblleft}normal{\textquotedblright} or {\textquotedblleft}abnormal{\textquotedblright} in an ageing population.We compared measured V'O2peak with predicted values and the lower limit of normal (LLN) calculated with five equations. 99 (58 males and 41 females) disease-free subjects aged >=70 years completed an incremental maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer.Mean V'O2peak was 1.88 L{\textperiodcentered}min-1 in men and 1.26 L{\textperiodcentered}min-1 in women. V'O2peak ranged from 89\% to 108\% of predicted in men, and from 88\% to 164\% of predicted in women, depending on the reference equation used. The proportion of subjects below the LLN ranged from 5\% to 14\% in men and 0{\textendash}22\% in women, depending on the reference equation. The LLN was lacking in one study, and was unsuitable for women in another. Most LLNs ranged between 53\% and 73\% of predicted. Therefore, choosing an 80\% cut-off leads to overestimation of the proportion of {\textquotedblleft}abnormal{\textquotedblright} subjects.To conclude, the proportion of subjects aged >=70 years with a {\textquotedblleft}low{\textquotedblright} V'O2peak differs markedly according to the chosen reference equations. In clinical practice, it is still relevant to test a sample of healthy volunteers and select the reference equations that better characterise this sample.As V'O2peak \% pred differs markedly with the reference value, reference equation choice is critical in the elderly http://ow.ly/YsXHD}, URL = {https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/2/1/00068-2015}, eprint = {https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/2/1/00068-2015.full.pdf}, journal = {ERJ Open Research} }