Objectives To identify the spirometric equations that are most appropriate for use in children and adolescents living in Bogota, Colombia after evaluating a set of relevant previously‐developed equations, including the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) 2012 spirometry reference equations. Methods Healthy children aged between 6 and 17 years that were attending two randomly‐selected schools in Bogota were invited to participate in the study, from January 2017 to January 2018. All participants underwent spirometry, following the procedures recommended by the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) Task Force. To identify the model or group of models that best predict each spirometric parameter in our population, we performed extensive residuals analyses and constructed Bland‐Altman plots. Results Three hundred twenty‐six spirometric tests (149 boys, 177 girls) formed the reference data set. Knudson and GLI‐2012 spirometry reference equations proved to be the most accurate in predicting the majority of spirometry parameters in both sexes and both age groups, each providing the lowest median prediction error in the residual analyses or the narrowest limits of agreement in the Bland‐Altman plots in approximately one‐third of the spirometry parameters analyzed. Conclusion For the majority of spirometry parameters, we recommend the use of Knudson and GLI‐2012 spirometry reference equations for evaluating the respiratory function of children living in Bogota, Colombia, a city located at an altitude of 2640 m. Future investigations should target additional spirometric equations from Latin American populations living at moderate to high altitude to improve the GLI‐2012 equations.

Objectives This study was aimed to provide locally derived spirometric equations from a population of healthy children residing in Bogota, Colombia, a high‐altitude city. Methods Healthy children aged more than 6 years up to less than 18 years underwent spirometry from January 2017 to January 2018, following the recommendations made by the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) Task Force. We performed stepwise multiple regression analyses to predict each spirometric parameter. We also performed extensive residual analyses comparing the measured values with those calculated with our new spirometric equations and with other commonly used equations. Results Predictive equations for each spirometric variable were derived from 326 spirometric tests (149 boys, 177 girls). Our newly derived spirometric equations provided the minimum of median of prediction error for almost all spirometric indices measured. Conclusion We recommend the newly developed spirometric equations for assessing the ventilatory function of children living in Bogota, Colombia.

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