TY - JOUR
T1 - Determinants of underdiagnosis of COPD in national and international surveys
AU - Lamprecht, Bernd
AU - Soriano, Joan B.
AU - Studnicka, Michael
AU - Kaiser, Bernhard
AU - Vanfleteren, Lowie E.
AU - Gnatiuc, Louisa
AU - Burney, Peter
AU - Miravitlles, Marc
AU - Garcîa-Rio, Francisco
AU - Akbari, Kaveh
AU - Ancochea, Julio
AU - Menezes, Ana M.
AU - Perez-Padilla, Rogelio
AU - De Oca, Maria Montes
AU - Torres-Duque, Carlos A.
AU - Caballero, Andres
AU - González-Garcîa, Mauricio
AU - Buist, Sonia
AU - Menezes, Ana Maria B.
AU - Talamo, Carlos
AU - Lopez-Varela, Maria Victorina
AU - Muino, Adriana
AU - Valdivia, Gonzalo
AU - Lisboa, Carmem
AU - Jardim, Jose Roberto B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American College of Chest Physicians.
PY - 2015/10/1
Y1 - 2015/10/1
N2 - Background: COPD ranks within the top three causes of mortality in the global burden of disease, yet it remains largely underdiagnosed. We assessed the underdiagnosis of COPD and its determinants in national and international surveys of general populations. Methods: We analyzed representative samples of adults aged ≥ 40 years randomly selected from well-defined administrative areas worldwide (44 sites from 27 countries). Postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC < lower limit of normal (LLN) was used to define chronic airflow limitation consistent with COPD. Undiagnosed COPD was considered when participants had postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC < LLN but were not given a diagnosis of COPD. Results: Among 30,874 participants with a mean age of 56 years, 55.8% were women, and 22.9% were current smokers. Population prevalence of (spirometrically defined) COPD ranged from 3.6% in Barranquilla, Colombia, to 19.0% in Cape Town, South Africa. Only 26.4% reported a previous lung function test, and only 5.0% reported a previous diagnosis of COPD, whereas 9.7% had a postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC < LLN. Overall, 81.4% of (spirometrically defined) COPD cases were undiagnosed, with the highest rate in Ile-Ife, Nigeria (98.3%) and the lowest rate in Lexington, Kentucky (50.0%). In multivariate analysis, a greater probability of underdiagnosis of COPD was associated with male sex, younger age, never and current smoking, lower education, no previous spirometry, and less severe airflow limitation. Conclusions: Even with substantial heterogeneity in COPD prevalence, COPD underdiagnosis is universally high. Because effective management strategies are available for COPD, spirometry can help in the diagnosis of COPD at a stage when treatment will lead to better outcomes and improved quality of life.
AB - Background: COPD ranks within the top three causes of mortality in the global burden of disease, yet it remains largely underdiagnosed. We assessed the underdiagnosis of COPD and its determinants in national and international surveys of general populations. Methods: We analyzed representative samples of adults aged ≥ 40 years randomly selected from well-defined administrative areas worldwide (44 sites from 27 countries). Postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC < lower limit of normal (LLN) was used to define chronic airflow limitation consistent with COPD. Undiagnosed COPD was considered when participants had postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC < LLN but were not given a diagnosis of COPD. Results: Among 30,874 participants with a mean age of 56 years, 55.8% were women, and 22.9% were current smokers. Population prevalence of (spirometrically defined) COPD ranged from 3.6% in Barranquilla, Colombia, to 19.0% in Cape Town, South Africa. Only 26.4% reported a previous lung function test, and only 5.0% reported a previous diagnosis of COPD, whereas 9.7% had a postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC < LLN. Overall, 81.4% of (spirometrically defined) COPD cases were undiagnosed, with the highest rate in Ile-Ife, Nigeria (98.3%) and the lowest rate in Lexington, Kentucky (50.0%). In multivariate analysis, a greater probability of underdiagnosis of COPD was associated with male sex, younger age, never and current smoking, lower education, no previous spirometry, and less severe airflow limitation. Conclusions: Even with substantial heterogeneity in COPD prevalence, COPD underdiagnosis is universally high. Because effective management strategies are available for COPD, spirometry can help in the diagnosis of COPD at a stage when treatment will lead to better outcomes and improved quality of life.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943410734&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84943410734&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1378/chest.14-2535
DO - 10.1378/chest.14-2535
M3 - Article
C2 - 25950276
AN - SCOPUS:84943410734
SN - 0012-3692
VL - 148
SP - 971
EP - 985
JO - CHEST
JF - CHEST
IS - 4
ER -