Montnémery P, Adelroth E, Heuman K, Johannisson A, Johansson S A, Lindholm L H, Lundbäck B, Löfdahl C G
Department of Community Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden.
Respir Med. 1998 Dec;92(12):1337-45. doi: 10.1016/s0954-6111(98)90139-1.
The prevalence of obstructive lung diseases is increasing in Scandinavia and worldwide. The reasons for this are not known. The prevalence varies between countries but also between different areas within the same country. In northern Europe a north-south gradient and also an east-west gradient have been proposed. To our knowledge this is the first comprehensive epidemiological study concerning obstructive lung diseases and respiratory symptoms in the southern part of Sweden. The prevalence of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis/emphysema, respiratory symptoms, smoking habits and medication in a random sample of 12,071 adults aged 20-59 years was assessed in a postal survey with a slightly modified questionnaire previously used in central and northern Sweden (the OLIN Studies). The questionnaire was based on the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) questionnaire. We also compared the prevalence figures of asthma found in the postal survey with those reported in the medical records in a part of the study area. After two reminders, the response rate was 70.1% (n = 8469); 33.8% of the responders were smokers. Among younger (20-39 year age group) individuals, smoking was most common in women, whereas in those aged 40-59 years, smoking was more common in men. In all, 469 subjects (5.5%) stated that they had asthma, 41.6% of whom reported a family history of asthma compared to 15.9% of the study sample not reporting asthma. Of all subjects reporting asthma, 60.1% (n = 282) answered that they used asthma drugs. Inhaled steroids were used by 20.7%. Chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema was reported by 4.6% (n = 392), 28.6% of whom reported a family history of chronic bronchitis or emphysema compared to 6.8% of the study sample not reporting chronic bronchitis. The most common respiratory symptom in the study population was 'phlegm when coughing' reported by 15.1% (n = 1279). Our data show a prevalence of self-reported asthma of 5.5% compared with 7% reported by Lunbäck et al. in northern Sweden, which indicates a north-south gradient.
阻塞性肺病在斯堪的纳维亚及全球范围内的患病率正在上升。其原因尚不清楚。患病率在不同国家之间存在差异，在同一国家的不同地区之间也有所不同。在北欧，有人提出存在南北梯度以及东西梯度。据我们所知，这是瑞典南部关于阻塞性肺病和呼吸道症状的第一项全面的流行病学研究。在一项邮寄调查中，我们使用了之前在瑞典中部和北部使用过的、经过略微修改的问卷，对12071名年龄在20至59岁之间的成年人随机样本进行了支气管哮喘、慢性支气管炎/肺气肿、呼吸道症状、吸烟习惯和用药情况的评估（奥林研究）。该问卷基于英国医学研究委员会（BMRC）问卷。我们还将邮寄调查中发现的哮喘患病率数据与研究区域一部分人群的病历报告数据进行了比较。经过两次提醒后，回复率为70.1%（n = 8469）；33.8%的回复者为吸烟者。在较年轻（20至39岁年龄组）的个体中，吸烟在女性中最为常见，而在40至59岁的人群中，吸烟在男性中更为常见。总共有469名受试者（5.5%）表示他们患有哮喘，其中41.6%报告有哮喘家族史，相比之下，未报告哮喘的研究样本中有15.9%有哮喘家族史。在所有报告患有哮喘的受试者中，60.1%（n = 282）回答他们使用哮喘药物。使用吸入性类固醇的占20.7%。报告患有慢性支气管炎和/或肺气肿的占4.6%（n = 392），其中28.6%报告有慢性支气管炎或肺气肿家族史，相比之下，未报告慢性支气管炎的研究样本中有6.8%有家族史。研究人群中最常见的呼吸道症状是“咳嗽时有痰”，占15.1%（n = 1279）。我们的数据显示，自我报告的哮喘患病率为5.5%，而伦贝克等人在瑞典北部报告的患病率为7%，这表明存在南北梯度。
