Source: Annual Congress 2002 - Prevalence and costs of COPD
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate differences in prevalence of COPD dependent on definitions according to British Thoracic Society (BTS), Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), and American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria.
Design: A cross-sectional epidemilogical survey of a general population sample in Norrbotten, the northernmost province of Sweden. A postal questionnaire was followed by a structured interview and lung function test during 1995.
Participants: 666 randomly selected adults aged 20-72 in Norrbotten, of whom 643 (50% women) performed a lung function test.
Results: The spirometric criteria of COPD according to BTS (FEV1/FVC < 0,70, FEV1 < 80 % predicted), GOLD (FEV1/FVC < 0,70) and ATS (FEV1/FVC <0,75) were fulfilled by 7.6%, 13.2% and 31.6%, respectively. In age class 20-45 years (n:258) the prevalences were 3.9%, 7.0%, 20.2%, and in age class 46-72 years (n:385) 10.1%, 17.4% 39.2%, respectively. Of the study sample, 45 % were non-smokers, 28% ex-smokers and 27% current smokers. Among non-smokers the prevalences were 3.4%, 5.5%, 21.4%, in ex-smokers 8.8%, 15.9%, 37.9%, and in current smokers 13.5%, 23.4%, 42.1%, respectively, according to the BTS, GOLD and ATS spirometric criteria.
Conclusion: The expected pattern with increasing prevalence with age and relationship to smoking habits was obvious independently of criteria, but the prevalence of COPD was highly dependent on the used criteria. BTS yielded the lowest figures and ATS the highest. In epidemiological studies of COPD, an exact definition of the criteria for COPD is necessary in order to make it possible to evaluate and compare findings.

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Citations should be made in the following way:
A. Lindberg, L. G. Larsson, A. C. Jonsson, B. Lundbäck (Luleå, Stockholm, Sweden). Evaluation of prevalence of COPD according to different criteria. Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 827

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