TY - JOUR T1 - Ageing and changes in lung mechanics JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 563 LP - 565 DO - 10.1183/09031936.05.00079805 VL - 26 IS - 4 AU - N. B. Pride Y1 - 2005/10/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/26/4/563.abstract N2 - Due to increasing life expectancy and low fertility, the European Union (EU) is an ageing society. Currently, 16% of its population is aged >65 yrs compared with an estimated 7% for the entire world. Further ageing of the EU population is projected over the next two decades, as shown in figure 1⇓ for the UK, whose current population aged >65 yrs is identical to the EU average. By 2021, nearly 10% of the UK population is projected to be aged >75 yrs, with increased male survival reducing the current striking preponderance of females in the aged population. These demographic trends are important for the future patterns of healthcare and disease. Therefore, it is encouraging that three papers in the current issue of the European Respiratory Journal 1–3 address “normal” ageing of different aspects of airway function and study older subjects compared with many earlier studies.Fig. 1— UK population projections in millions up to 2021. ▪: females ≥65 yrs of age; •: males ≥65 yrs of age; ♦: females ≥75 yrs of age; ▴: males ≥75 yrs of age. Total UK population in 2001 was 60 million. Changes in pulmonary elastic and resistive properties, and in maximum expiratory flow with increasing age, were first described 40 yrs ago, admittedly by small cross-sectional studies of young adults versus elderly subjects. These studies established that the maximum size of the lungs (total lung capacity) did not change with age, but functional residual capacity (FRC) and residual volume (RV) both increased so that inspiratory capacity and vital capacity (VC) both declined 4. The increase in FRC was due to an increase in relaxation volume of the respiratory system, which arose from changes in the static recoil pressure of both the chest wall and the lungs. Static recoil pressure of the lungs (PL) fell at all … ER -