Larsson L, Boëthius G, Uddenfeldt M
Dept of Pulmonary Medicine, Ostersund Hospital, Sweden.
Eur Respir J. 1993 Feb;6(2):198-203.
Utilization of anti-asthma drugs is rapidly increasing and varies markedly between counties in Sweden. In 1989, the sales in the county of Gävleborg were less than 60% of those in neighbouring Jämtland. In order to study the possible reasons for--and effects of--this difference, an epidemiological survey was started in 1989, the first part of which is reported here. A questionnaire was sent to all 16 yr olds, and to a random sample of 30-39 and 60-69 yr olds, in the two counties. A total of 12,500 questionnaires were distributed. Overall response rate was 90%. A total of 7.2% in Jämtland and 5.8% in Gävleborg (p < 0.01) reported that they had had asthma at some time. A similar significant difference between the counties was also present in response to questions on attacks of shortness of breath, wheezing and self-reported diagnosis of asthma, as well as on use of anti-asthma drugs. There were no statistically significant differences between the counties in positive answers to questions concerning history and symptoms of chronic bronchitis; approximately 5% in the oldest age group. The findings support earlier results indicating a high asthma prevalence in northern Sweden. Contrary to reports from other countries, the prevalence was higher in the colder and less urbanised of the two provinces. We conclude that the differences in drug sales between the counties reflect a difference in prevalence of asthmatic symptoms.
抗哮喘药物的使用正在迅速增加，且瑞典各县之间差异显著。1989年，耶夫勒堡省的销售额不到邻省耶姆特兰省的60%。为研究这种差异的可能原因及其影响，1989年启动了一项流行病学调查，本文报告的是其第一部分。向两个省份所有16岁的青少年以及30 - 39岁和60 - 69岁年龄段的随机样本发放了调查问卷。共发放了12500份问卷。总体回复率为90%。耶姆特兰省有7.2%的人报告曾在某个时候患过哮喘，耶夫勒堡省这一比例为5.8%（p < 0.01）。在关于呼吸急促发作、喘息以及自我报告的哮喘诊断问题以及抗哮喘药物使用方面，两县之间也存在类似的显著差异。在关于慢性支气管炎病史和症状问题的肯定回答上，两县之间无统计学显著差异；最年长年龄组中约为5%。这些发现支持了早期表明瑞典北部哮喘患病率较高的结果。与其他国家的报告相反，在这两个省份中，较寒冷且城市化程度较低的省份患病率更高。我们得出结论，各县之间药物销售的差异反映了哮喘症状患病率的差异。
