abnormal PFT in young adult non smoker

[angree]

My NON SMOKING 24 year old son recently had a PFT test, the tech told him she saw a minor obstruction.  Later that day, the Physician Assistant called and told him that he needs to see a Pulmonologist because the test came back abnormal and pointed to bronchitis/emphysema.  I cannot understand this because he is an extremely active person, extreme mountain biking for hours on end,  he snowboards at high elevations with no shortness of breathe, ..with NO coughing, or anything like that. He complained of a minor fleeting chest pinching stabbing pain that lasts for a second and goes...he is no longer feeling this... He has had EKG's, blood tests...all normal..   He does have acid reflux and sometimes severe allergies. We are both "freaked out " by this ..
1..Is this possibleto have bronchitis/emphysema COPD or such when you have no symptoms?  
2.Also, could extreme tiredness affect the test?

At the moment I do not have the "numbers" from his test...but I have requested those....
Thank you in advance.

[National Jewish Health]

One should be very wary of basing the diagnosis of bronchitis/emphysema, on a single pulmonary function test, showing "minor obstruction", especially in a young healthy non-smoking 24 year old, able to engage in intense physical exertion.  It is possible to have emphysema/COPD without symptoms, especially in a sedentary individual, but almost never in a physically active one.  There is a relatively rare condition, called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency that can lead to emphysema at a very early age, but the development of emphysema in the third decade of life almost always requires a history of smoking cigarettes.

What you have been told is of concern, but please do not be "freaked out" by this report.  The first step is either to repeat the test in a reliable hospital pulmonary function lab or to see a pulmonologist and have him/her repeat the test.  And, yes, extreme tiredness or less than maximum effort can affect the test results.  Given your son's ability to engage in extreme physical activity, it is highly unlikely that he has emphysema or any other lung disease.