Fang L, et al. - A cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of people from mainland China aged 40 years or older was performed to find out an up-to-date nationwide estimation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence in China. The estimated overall prevalence of COPD in China in 2014–15 was 13·6%, indicating that this disease has become a major public-health problem in a large, nationally representative sample of adults aged 40 years or older.

Methods

• COPD, defined according to the 2017 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) lung function criteria was the primary outcome.

Results

• Sixty-six thousand, seven hundred fifty-two adults were selected to the study population between Dec 29, 2014, and Dec 31, 2015.
• It was observed in the findings that the estimated standardised prevalence of COPD was 13·6% (95% CI 12·0–15·2).
• It was noted that the prevalence of COPD varied significantly between men and women (19·0%, 95% CI 16·9–21·2 vs 8·1%, 6·8–9·3; p<0·0001), mainly because of a significant difference in smoking status between men and women (current smokers 58·2% vs 4·0%).
• Data reported that the prevalence of COPD differed by geographic region, with the highest prevalence in southwest China (20·2%, 95% CI 14·7–25·8) and the lowest in central China (10·2%, 8·2–12·2).
• Findings revealed that among adults with COPD, 56·4% (95% CI 53·7–59·2) had mild disease (GOLD stage I), 36·3% (34·3–38·3) had moderate disease (GOLD stage II), 6·5% (5·5–7·4) had severe disease (GOLD stage III), and 0·9% (0·6–1·1) had very severe disease (GOLD stage IV).