Prevalence of COPD in Copenhagen

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence of COPD in Copenhagen

AU - Fabricius, Peder

AU - Løkke, Anders

AU - Marott, Jacob Louis

AU - Vestbo, Jørgen

AU - Lange, Peter

N1 - Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PY - 2011/3

Y1 - 2011/3

N2 - Introduction: COPD is a leading cause of death worldwide; however, prevalence estimates have varied considerably in previous studies. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of COPD in Copenhagen using data from the 4th examination of The Copenhagen City Heart Study, to investigate the relationship between tobacco consumption and COPD, and to characterize the subjects with COPD with regard to BMI, dyspnoea, treatment with respiratory medication and co-morbidities. Methods: 6236 people participated. All non-asthmatic participants aged 35 years or older with adequate lung function data were included for the final prevalence analyses (n = 5,299). COPD staging was done according to the GOLD criteria. Results: The overall prevalence of COPD was 17.4%. The prevalence increased with age and was higher among males. 6.2% had mild COPD, 9.2% had moderate COPD, and 2.0% had severe or very severe COPD. Tobacco consumption was closely linked to both prevalence and disease severity. Subjects with COPD had lower mean Body Mass Index (BMI) and more frequently a BMI < 21 kg/m2. Dyspnoea was correlated to lung function but a substantial number of participants with severe COPD experienced no dyspnoea. Only a minority of subjects with COPD received pulmonary medication. COPD was associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer. Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD in Denmark is among the highest in the world. It is closely correlated to smoking and age. It is accompanied by substantial co-morbidity and it is grossly under treated.

AB - Introduction: COPD is a leading cause of death worldwide; however, prevalence estimates have varied considerably in previous studies. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of COPD in Copenhagen using data from the 4th examination of The Copenhagen City Heart Study, to investigate the relationship between tobacco consumption and COPD, and to characterize the subjects with COPD with regard to BMI, dyspnoea, treatment with respiratory medication and co-morbidities. Methods: 6236 people participated. All non-asthmatic participants aged 35 years or older with adequate lung function data were included for the final prevalence analyses (n = 5,299). COPD staging was done according to the GOLD criteria. Results: The overall prevalence of COPD was 17.4%. The prevalence increased with age and was higher among males. 6.2% had mild COPD, 9.2% had moderate COPD, and 2.0% had severe or very severe COPD. Tobacco consumption was closely linked to both prevalence and disease severity. Subjects with COPD had lower mean Body Mass Index (BMI) and more frequently a BMI < 21 kg/m2. Dyspnoea was correlated to lung function but a substantial number of participants with severe COPD experienced no dyspnoea. Only a minority of subjects with COPD received pulmonary medication. COPD was associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer. Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD in Denmark is among the highest in the world. It is closely correlated to smoking and age. It is accompanied by substantial co-morbidity and it is grossly under treated.

KW - Cardiovascular Diseases

KW - Denmark

KW - Dyspnea

KW - Female

KW - Forced Expiratory Volume

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Neoplasms

KW - Prevalence

KW - Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

KW - Severity of Illness Index

KW - Smoking

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

U2 - 10.1016/j.rmed.2010.09.019

DO - 10.1016/j.rmed.2010.09.019

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 20952174

SN - 0954-6111

VL - 105

SP - 410

EP - 417

JO - Respiratory Medicine

JF - Respiratory Medicine

IS - 3

ER -