Chest
Clinical InvestigationsPULMONARY FUNCTIONRespiratory Symptoms and Undiagnosed Airflow Obstruction in Middle-Aged Adults: The Korean Health and Genome Study
Section snippets
Background
The Korean Health and Genome (KHG) Study began in 2001 as an ongoing population-based study of Korean adults aged 40 to 69 years. Support for the study is from the National Genome Research Institute, as an effort to describe the frequency and determinants of chronic diseases in Korea. Participants include residents of an urban community 32 kilometers southwest of Seoul, South Korea (Ansan), and in a rural setting 100 kilometers south of Seoul (Ansung). Procedures were in accordance with
Results
Undiagnosed airflow obstruction was observed in 12.4% of the men (470 of 3,806 subjects) and in 3.5% of the women (152 of 4,334 subjects). Tables 1, 2present the overall prevalence of each respiratory symptom within 10-year age groups, and according to smoking status in men and women, respectively. Among the respiratory symptoms, those that were the most common included chronic phlegm, wheezing, shortness of breath, and shortness of breath at rest and when walking uphill.
In men who smoked
Discussion
Findings from the present study suggest that respiratory symptoms are common in middle-aged men and women in Korea. Increases in the prevalence of undiagnosed airflow obstruction with advancing age are also substantial. Among the respiratory symptoms associated with undiagnosed airflow obstruction, wheezing seemed to be the most important, followed by shortness of breath under various conditions and chronic cough. The prevalence of undiagnosed airflow obstruction also increased as the number of
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Supported by a grant (348–6111-221) from the Korean National Institute of Health.