Open this publication in new window or tab >>Luleå University of Technology, Department of Health Sciences, Nursing and Medical technology. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Section of Sustainable Health/the OLIN unit, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Levanger, Norway; Levanger Hospital, Nord-Trøndelag Hospital Trust, Levanger, Norway.
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Division of Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Clinical Research Unit of Pulmonary Diseases, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki University and Clinical Research Institute HUCH Ltd, Helsinki, Finland.
Krefting Research Centre, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Wallenberg Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Espoo City Primary Health Care Services, Finland.
Unit of Clinical Physiology, HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Hospital, and University of Helsinki, Finland.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Seinäjoki Central Hospital, Seinäjoki, Finland.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Seinäjoki Central Hospital, Seinäjoki, Finland; Krefting Research Centre, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Unit of Clinical Physiology, HUS Medical Imaging Center, Helsinki University Hospital, and University of Helsinki, Finland.
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Section of Sustainable Health/the OLIN unit, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
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2021 (English)In: Journal of Asthma, ISSN 0277-0903, E-ISSN 1532-4303, Vol. 58, no 9, p. 1196-1207Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Objective: To investigate the current prevalence of physician-diagnosed obstructive airway diseases by respiratory symptoms and by sex in Sweden and Finland. Method: In 2016, a postal questionnaire was answered by 34,072 randomly selected adults in four study areas: Västra Götaland and Norrbotten in Sweden, and Seinäjoki-Vaasa and Helsinki in Finland. Results: The prevalence of asthma symptoms was higher in Norrbotten (13.2%), Seinäjoki-Vaasa (14.8%) and Helsinki (14.4%) than in Västra Götaland (10.7%), and physician-diagnosed asthma was highest in Norrbotten (13.0%) and least in Västra Götaland (10.1%). Chronic productive cough was most common in the Finnish areas (7.7-8.2 % versus 6.3-6.7 %) while the prevalence of physician-diagnosed chronic bronchitis (CB) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) varied between 1.7-2.7% in the four areas. Among individuals with respiratory symptoms, the prevalence of asthma was most common in Norrbotten, while a diagnosis of COPD or CB was most common in Västra Götaland and Seinäjoki-Vaasa. More women than men with respiratory symptoms reported a diagnosis of asthma in Sweden and Seinäjoki-Vaasa but there were no sex differences in Helsinki. In Sweden, more women than men with symptoms of cough or phlegm reported a diagnosis of CB or COPD, while in Finland the opposite was found. Conclusion: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms and corresponding diagnoses varied between and within the countries. The proportion reporting a diagnosis of obstructive airway disease among individuals with respiratory symptoms varied, indicating differences in diagnostic patterns both between areas and by sex.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis, 2021
Keywords
asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis, epidemiology, diagnostic practices, obstructive lung disease, respiratory symptoms, sex differences
National Category
Nursing
Research subject
Nursing
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-79247 (URN)10.1080/02770903.2020.1776727 (DOI)000545839200001 ()32475292 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85087039697 (Scopus ID)
Funder
NordForskSwedish Heart Lung FoundationNorrbotten County CouncilSwedish Asthma and Allergy AssociationVisare Norr
Note
Validerad;2021;Nivå 2;2021-08-17 (alebob);
Forskningsfinansiär: ALF – a regional agreement between Umeå University and Norrbotten County Council; Herman Krefting Foundation for asthma and allergy research; Tampere Tuberculosis Foundation; Finnish Anti-Tuberculosis Association Foundation; Competitive State Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility Area of Tampere University Hospital; Medical Research Fund of Seinäjoki Central Hospital; Nummela Sanatorium Foundation; Ida Montin Foundation; Helsinki University Central Hospital (TYH 2013354)
2020-06-082020-06-082021-08-17Bibliographically approved