engleski

Assessing asthma and COPD symptom prevalence in four South-Eastern European countries.

Assessing asthma and COPD symptom prevalence in four South-Eastern European countries Authors: Tamara Lukic1, Yavor Ivanov2, Diana Petkova3, Neven Tudoric4, Sanja Popovic Grle5, Zarko Vrbica6, Brendan Caruana Montaldo7, Cynthia Jones7, Branislava Milenkovic8, Zorica Lazic9, Ivan Kopitovic10, Vojislav Cupurdija9, Magda Berberova11, Branko Jugovic1 and Olivera Tomanoski Aleksic1 Character limit = 1810 including spaces and the title ; current character count =1809, including spaces and the title The prevalence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms is not well defined in 4 South-Eastern European countries. A telephone questionnaire was conducted in the general populations (aged ≥18 years) of Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta and Serbia. The occurrence of respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing during the previous 5 years, and smoking habits were queried. There were 6504 respondents (46% male, 56% ≥46 years of age), 52% reported ≥1 respiratory symptom during the previous 5 years and the most common were waking with a cough (28%), shortness of breath (27%) and wheezing (24%). Overall, 16% of respondents reported limitations in daily living due to respiratory symptoms, and 20% had visited the doctor or hospitalisation due to respiratory infection or symptoms. Physician-diagnosed asthma was reported by 5% (n=321) of respondents overall (3.3% in Bulgaria, 5.9% in Croatia, 9.8% in Malta and 4.4% in Serbia), 64% of whom reported regular prescribed treatment, 45% reported strict treatment compliance and 7% reported an emergency doctor visit and hospitalisation. Physician-diagnosed COPD was reported by 3.2% (n=205) of respondents overall (2.6% in Bulgaria, 2.4% in Croatia, 2% in Malta and 4.8% in Serbia), 56% of whom reported regular prescribed treatment, 38% reported strict treatment compliance and 17% reported hospitalisation. Overall, 33% of respondents reported smoking ; 44% in Bulgaria, 28% in Croatia, 21% in Malta and 29% in Serbia. The results of this questionnaire may improve the understanding of respiratory epidemiology in these South-Eastern European countries, and how this compares with data from the literature. Funded by GSK.

Lung disease obstructive

nije evidentirano