ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Spirometry is known to be a gold standard for the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD Assessment Test (CAT) is an eight-item questionnaire currently in use to evaluate patients with COPD. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate if CAT is an adequate tool for screening COPD. METHODS: In total, 600 persons aging ⩾40 years old were randomly selected from three different family practice units located in the city center. CAT was asked to the participants and a spirometry was used to assess pulmonary obstruction. Pulmonary obstruction was defined as forced expiratory volume in first second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC)<70% and then COPD diagnosis was confirmed with the reversibility test. The relationship between CAT results and pulmonary function test values was evaluated. RESULTS: In this sampling, the prevalence of COPD was 4.2%. Reliability of the CAT in the study group was acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.84). The CAT scores was significantly higher in patients with COPD (P<0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between CAT score and FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio (r=-0.31, P<0.001; r=-0.26, P<0.001; r=0.18, P=0.001). Among smokers, phlegm was the predominating symptom (P=0.01). Sensitivity of CAT was 66.67% and its specificity was 75.15% to determine COPD. CONCLUSIONS: CAT is a reliable questionnaire and there is an apparent relationship between the total CAT scores and COPD. However, CAT's ability to screen COPD is limited since it may miss the symptom-free cases.
Subject(s)
Family Practice/methods , Physicians, Family , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/diagnosis , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/physiopathology , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Adult , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Forced Expiratory Volume , Humans , Lung/physiopathology , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , Risk Factors , Sensitivity and Specificity , Spirometry/statistics & numerical data , Vital CapacityABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is known that essential hypertension begins at a very early age. Recently, there have been reports of an increase in childhood hypertension, which has been attributed to an increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity. Obesity-dependent or independent asymptomatic hypertension can only be determined by random blood pressure measurements in children. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of obesity and asymptomatic hypertension among children living in Bursa, Turkey. METHODS: One thousand children living in Nilüfer district and being served by the Fethiye Bulvar Family Health Care Center were enrolled in this study. All seven family physicians working at the centre participated in the study. RESULTS: Eighty-five children (8.5%) were determined to be hypertensive. One hundred and twelve children (11.2%) were obese. Blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) increased with age, with peak prevalence of hypertension at age 12 and of obesity at age 10. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of obesity and hypertension is high among school-age children in Turkey. Family physicians should consistently perform blood pressure and BMI measurements as a part of well child visits through late childhood.
