Characteristics of newly diagnosed COPD in primary care / 中华健康管理学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of newly diagnosed patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Shenzhen primary care.Methods:Random sampling was conducted in 10 jurisdictions of Shenzhen, permanent residents who were over 40 years old and lived for more than 6 months were included for lung function test, COPD Population Screener (COPD-PS) questionnaire and information survey, the prevalence of COPD was estimated, and statistical comparison was made between the two groups of subjects with newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed COPD.Results:Among 3 916 subjects, 3 591 had completed the whole screening process. The results showed that 280 COPD patients were diagnosed and the estimated standardized prevalence of COPD was 5.92% (95% CI 4.05-8.34). Among them, 251 (89.64%) were newly diagnosed COPD patients and 29 (10.36%) were previously diagnosed COPD patients. Compared with previously diagnosed COPD, the proportion of female in the newly diagnosed COPD was higher (50.20% vs 10.34%, P<0.001), educational level in the newly diagnosed COPD was lower (the proportion of primary school and below was higher, 42.23% vs 20.69%, P=0.023), the proportion of those with frequent wheezing symptoms in the newly diagnosed COPD was lower (4.78% vs 51.72%, P<0.001), the proportion of those with mild degree of airway obstruction (GOLD 1) in the newly diagnosed COPD was higher (81.67% vs 20.69%, P<0.001). The detection rates of COPD-PS in newly diagnosed COPD and previously diagnosed COPD were 43.03% and 41.38% respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of COPD-PS was 0.705. Conclusion:The phenomenon of insufficient diagnosis of COPD in Shenzhen primary care is common and we should vigorously popularize pulmonary function examination.