Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2011 Volume 139, Issue 3-4, Pages: 149-154
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1104149M
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Asthma and chronic bronchitis symptoms among adult population of Belgrade
Milenković Branislava (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Mitić-Milikić Marija (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Rebić Predrag (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Vukčević Miodrag (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Dudvarski-Ilić Aleksandra (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Nagorni-Obradović Ljudmila (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Lazić Zorica (Centar za plućne bolesti, Interna klinika, Klinički centar, Kragujevac)
Bošnjak-Petrović Vesna (Klinika za pulmologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Introduction. Over the last three decades the prevalence of respiratory
diseases has been increasing worldwide thus increasing economic burden on the
healthcare system. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of asthma in
West European countries ranges from 6-9%, while of chronic obstructive
pulmonary diseases (COPD) is 8.0% worlwide. Objective. The aim of the study
was to estimate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and smoking habits,
and to assess the prevalence of asthma and chronic bronchitis among adults in
Belgrade, Serbia. Methods. To collect data we used a questionnaire based on
the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) protocol, which was
mailed to 10,208 randomly selected subjects. Results. There were 58.3% of
responders to our questionnaire. We noted a higher prevalence of respiratory
symptoms in subjects who responded promptly. The majority of the respondents
were current or former smokers (37.5% and 17.5% respectively) and 79.9% of
them reported respiratory symptoms. The most frequent symptoms were
longstanding cough (32.2%), sputum production (30.4%) and wheezing (30.3%).
Asthma attacks were reported in 4.4% of cases and 5.6% of subjects were using
asthma medications. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms increased with
age. Women reported coughing, attacks of breathlessness and coughing, chest
tightness by night, allergic rhinitis and chronic coughing, more frequently
than men. Productive cough was more frequent in men. The prevalence of almost
all symptoms was higher in smokers compared to nonsmokers. Conclusion. In
Serbia there is a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms, asthma and chronic
bronchitis smoking addiction.
Keywords: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), symptoms, epidemiological survey, questionnaire
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