ABSTRACT
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a major public health problem. It is the fourth leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality in the United States, and is projected to rank fifth in 2020 in burden of disease caused worldwide. Objective: To research the epidemiology of COPD in the population of Bac Giang city and finding out the risk factors of COPD. Subjects and method: Cross-sectional survey of general population sample of 2,104 men and women with the age \ufffd?0 years in 30 wards of 11 communes of Bac Giang city. Data on respiratory symptoms, diseases, and risk factors were collected. Lung function tests were performed with Spiroanalyzer snoo, Japan. Results and conclusions: The incidence of COPD was 2.3%; in men 3.0% and in women 1.7%. The incidence of simple chronic bronchitis was 6.4%. People who smoked had higher rate of COPD than the others (OR = 2.8). The incidence of smoking in COPD was 55.9%. The three most important risk factors of COPD was the age \ufffd?0; smoking >15 pack/year and medical history of asthma.