Estimating the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease

A method is described for estimating the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease in a middle aged and elderly general practice based population, using the prescription of drugs in order to identify the disease. The prevalence estimates ranged from 15 per 1,000 in men aged 45-50 years to 62 per 1,000 in those aged 75-80 years. For women the corresponding values were 11 to 29 per 1,000. The estimates attained displayed the age and sex patterns expected on the basis of other data sources including morbidity surveys in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The similarity suggests that this may be a valid method for estimating quickly and cheaply the prevalence of certain diseases in the community.