Participant characteristics (n=36)
| Healthy | Mild ILD | Severe ILD | |
| Participants n | 13 | 10 | 13 |
| Males/females (% females) | 8/5 (38.5%) | 6/4 (40%) | 8/5 (38.5%) |
| Age years | 60±9 | 60±9 | 65±5 |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 25±3 | 27±4 | 26±3 |
| FVC % predicted | 101±14 | 81±17 | 59±20* |
| DLCO % predicted | 69 ±14 | 48 ±15* | |
| 6MWD m | 558±107 | 397±71* | |
| 6MWD % predicted | 83±15 | 62±13* | |
| Hb g·L−1 | 148±11 | 136±19 | |
| Hct L·L−1 | 0.43±0.02 | 0.41±0.05 | |
| Estimated FIO2 | 0.45±0.1# | ||
| Diagnosis | |||
| IPF | 3 | 4 | |
| NSIP | 1 | 3 | |
| IPF/COPD | 2 | ||
| DIP | 1 | ||
| COP | 1 | ||
| NYD | 1 | 1 | |
| Hypersensitivity pneumonia | 2 | ||
| LAM | 1 | ||
| Sjogren's | 2 | ||
| RA-ILD | 1 |
Data are presented as mean±sd unless otherwise stated. ILD: interstitial lung disease; BMI: body mass index; FVC: forced vital capacity; DLCO: diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; 6MWD: 6-min walking distance; Hb: haemoglobin; Hct: haematocrit; FIO2: inspiratory oxygen fraction; IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; NSIP: nonspecific interstitial pneumonia; DIP: desquamative interstitial pneumonia; COP: cryptogenic organising pneumonia; NYD: not yet diagnosed; LAM: lymphangioleiomyomatosis; RA: rheumatoid arthritis. #: during testing, determined from [7]; nasal cannulae regular 3–4 L·min−1 (n=5), nasal cannulae high flow 6–15 L·min−1 (n=5), Oxymizer 4–10 L·min−1 (n=3). *: p≤0.05 for differences between groups.