TY - JOUR T1 - Serum bilirubin is associated with lung function in a Swiss general population sample JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/09031936.00055813 SP - erj00558-2013 AU - Ivan Curjuric AU - Medea Imboden AU - Martin Adam AU - Robert W Bettschart AU - Margaret W Gerbase AU - Nino Künzli AU - Thierry Rochat AU - Lucia Rohrer AU - Thomas B Rothe AU - Joel Schwartz AU - Daiana Stolz AU - Jean-Marie Tschopp AU - Arnold von Eckardstein AU - Florian Kronenberg AU - Nicole M Probst-Hensch Y1 - 2013/01/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2013/10/30/09031936.00055813.abstract N2 - Bilirubin is a strong antioxidant. Increased serum levels were associated with respiratory disease and mortality risk. We studied the association of bilirubin with lung function in the SAPALDIA cohort.Associations between natural logarithmized bilirubin and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, and mean forced expiratory flow between 25%–75% of FVC (FEF25–75) were tested using multiple linear regression in the whole study population (n=4195) and strata of ever smoking and high body mass index (BMI, defined by the highest distribution quartile). Associations were retested with single nucleotide polymorphism rs6742078, a genetic determinant of bilirubin.High bilirubin levels were significantly associated with higher FEV1/FVC and FEF25–75 overall. Upon stratification, significant associations persisted in ever smokers, amounting to 1.1 percent (95%-confidence interval 0.1 to 2.2) increase in FEV1/FVC, and 116.2 mL·sec−1 (−15.9 to 248.4) in FEF25–75 per interquartile range of bilirubin exposure in smokers with high BMI. Associations were positive but non –significant in never smokers with high BMI. Similarly, rs6742078 genotype TT was associated with increased FEV1/FVC and FEF25–75.Our results suggest a possible protective role of bilirubin on lung tissue, which could be important for prevention and therapy. ER -