Validation of a structured questionnaire for COPD and prevalence of COPD in rural area of Mysore: A pilot study

The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing in India and there is a need to study the prevalence of COPD, particularly in the rural areas, which may be most affected due to their lifestyle.

FIRST STAGE: Validation of the questionnaire-105 consecutive patients underwent administration of the structured questionnaire and spirometry was used as a gold standard for the diagnosis of COPD. Second stage: Adults above 40 years (n = 900) in two villages of Mysore district were administered with the validated questionnaire, Knowledge and Attitude questionnaire and Fagerstorm questionnaire, to assess nicotine dependency.

The questionnaire was found to have a sensitivity of 62.5% and specificity of 87.6% to diagnose COPD. Of the total 900 adults surveyed (Males: 453, Females: 447), the total prevalence of COPD was 7.1%. Males had a higher prevalence (11.1%) compared to females (4.5%). The prevalence of smoking was very high among men at 71.9% and all the women were nonsmokers. The prevalence of COPD was 14.7% in smokers, 19.3% had mild to moderate nicotine dependency and 12.8% were highly dependent. Of the women exposed to regular biomass fuels, the prevalence of COPD was 3.9%, which increased to 4.8% on addition of regular passive smoking. In smoking, male gender and age were significantly associated with COPD (P < 0.05).

The structured questionnaire is a useful tool for the screening of COPD in field studies. Smoking and biomass fuel exposure are important risk factors for COPD.