TY - JOUR T1 - Lung function in the children of immigrant and UK-born south-Asian mothers JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1163 LP - 1166 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00152114 VL - 45 IS - 4 AU - Claudia E. Kuehni AU - Marie-Pierre F. Strippoli AU - Ben D. Spycher AU - Michael Silverman AU - Caroline S. Beardsmore Y1 - 2015/04/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/45/4/1163.abstract N2 - There are ethnic differences in lung function, with white subjects having larger height-normalised forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) than black people or Asians [1, 2]. It has been argued that these differences might be explained by environmental and social factors associated with poverty [3, 4]. Alternatively, the differences in lung volume might be explained by inherent factors, such as genetically determined differences in body frame, with a relatively smaller thoracic cage and, consequently, smaller lungs in some Asian ethnic groups [4, 5]. If the differences were explained mainly or entirely by environmental exposures, lung function in populations migrating from a south-Asian to a western European country should increase in successive generations as standards of living gradually approach those of the host region.Lung function is similarly low in children of migrant and UK-born south-Asian mothers http://ow.ly/Fhs4eWe thank the parents and children of Leicestershire and Rutland, UK, for participating, and Tony Davis (Specialist Community Child Health Services, Leicester City Primary Care Trust, Leicester, UK) for his assistance. ER -