www.biomedcentral.com

Table 1
Outcome criteria in the PLATINO project.
Outcome	Definition*

Spirometric criteria*
FIXED RATIO	Post-bronchodilator FEV₁/FVC < 70% [10]
GOLD	Post-bronchodilator FEV₁/FVC < 70 and FEV₁< 80% of predicted value [10]
ATS	Post-bronchodilator FEV₁/FVC below the 5^thpercentile and FEV₁< 100% of predicted value [11]
ERS	Post-bronchodilator FEV₁/FVC < 88% of the predicted value for men and < 89% for women [12]
Symptom-based criteria
Chronic bronchitis	Cough with phlegm for at least 3 months a year in the last 2 years
Asthma	Wheezing within the last 12 months
Emphysema	Breathlessness due to exercise
Medical diagnosis
COPD	Reported lifetime diagnosis of COPD
Chronic bronchitis	Reported lifetime diagnosis of chronic bronchitis
Emphysema	Reported lifetime diagnosis of emphysema
Asthma	Reported lifetime diagnosis of asthma

FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in the first second; FVC = forced vital capacity For initial analyses of lung function measurements, the NHANES III Mexican American reference values were used [13].
Menezes et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2004 4:15 doi:10.1186/1471-2288-4-15

Table 1