Forced expiratory volume (FEV1) or Forced vital capacity (FVC) values, which are currently used to assess the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diagnosing other lung disease through race/ethnic-based reference equations did not improve predictions of events or deaths. A recent multi-ethnic study study, published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that the results of racial adjustments in assessing severity in COPD or defining normal lung function gave no additional benefits as compared to those predicted by race/ethnic-neutral calculations. Normal values for FEV1 and FVC are two lung function parameters currently calculated using equations that include terms for race or ethnicity. According to researchers from the University of California San Francisco, who conducted the study analysing data from more than 3,000 adult participants comprising White (36%), Black (25%), Hispanic (23%), and Asian (17%), gathered from 2004 to 2006 and followed through 2019, rather found evidence that COPD severity may be underestimated in Black patients due to the use of the race-based equations.