Association Between Emphysema-like Lung on Cardiac Computed Tomography and Mortality in Persons Without Airflow Obstruction A Cohort Study

Background: Low lung function is known to predict mortality in the general population, but the prognostic significance of emphy-sema on computed tomography (CT) in persons without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is uncertain. Objective: To determine whether greater emphysema-like lung on CT is associated with all-cause mortality among persons in the general population without airflow obstruction or COPD. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Population-based, multiethnic sample from 6 U.S. communities. Participants: 2965 participants aged 45 to 84 years without airflow obstruction on spirometry. Measurements: Emphysema-like lung was defined as the number of lung voxels with attenuation less than 950 Hounsfield units on cardiac CT and was adjusted for the number of total imaged lun