Survey and analyses of rate of spirometry examination in adults aged 40 years and older in China, 2014 / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective: To understand the performance of spirometry examination in adults aged ≥40 years and provide evidence for the improvement of comprehensive prevention and control of COPD and the evaluation on the effects of current prevention and control measures. Methods: The study subjects were those included in national COPD surveillance in China during 2014-2015. The surveillance used a multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling strategy and a total of 125 surveillance points in 31 provinces were covered. A total of 75 107 adults aged ≥40 years received a questionnaire survey in face to face interviews to collect the information about their acceptance of spirometry examination in previous years. The estimated rate (95%CI) of spirometry examination was calculated based on complex sampling weight design. Results: A total of 74 591 subjects were included in the analyses. The estimated rate of spirometry examination was 4.5% (95%CI: 3.7%-5.2%), and it was significantly higher in men than in women (P<0.001), in urban population than in rural population (P<0.001). The rate of spirometry examination increased with the increase of education level (P<0.001). The rate of spirometry examination was highest in retirees (10.8%, 95%CI: 8.2%-13.3%), and lowest in those working in the industry of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water conservancy (2.4%, 95%CI: 2.0%-2.9%). The rate of spirometry examination was high in those with previous chronic respiratory diseases and respiratory symptoms, i.e. 13.4% (95%CI: 10.5%-16.4%) and 15.0% (95%CI: 10.5%-19.4%) respectively. The rate of spirometry examination in former smokers was 7.4% (95%CI: 6.0%-8.8%), slightly higher than those in current smokers and never smokers, 4.7% (95%CI: 3.9%-5.5%) and 3.9% (95%CI: 3.0%-4.7%), respectively. In different population groups, the rate of spirometry examination was lowest in rural population who had received no formal education (1.8%, 95%CI: 1.2%-2.3%) and highest in urban population with respiratory symptoms (20.2%, 95%CI: 12.6%-27.8%). Conclusion: The rate of spirometry examination is extremely low in adults aged ≥40 years in China, therefore effective measures should be taken to increase the rate of spirometry examination in adults in China.