Physiological changes in asbestos pleural disease.

This paper reports the findings of a study of lung function at rest and during progressive sub-maximal exercise in a group of men with varying degrees of asbestos-related pleural abnormality. The results show that pulmonary fibrosis is accompanied by more adverse functional change than pleural abnormality, diffuse pleural thickening is associated with more functional abnormality than non-calcified pleural plaques, and pleural calcification is not associated with significant functional defects. The relationship between lung function and asbestos exposure in this selected group is discussed. It is also suggested that VE1-0 is as useful an index of the ventilatory cost of exercise as VE1.5.