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Prevalence of small airway dysfunction in the Swiss PneumoLaus Cohort
Brice Touilloux1,2, Cedric Bongard1, Benoit Lechartier1
1Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Background:
Recent evidence identified exposure to particulate matter of size ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) as a risk factor for high prevalence of small airway dysfunction (SAD). We assessed the prevalence of SAD in a European region with low air pollution levels.
Methods:
SAD was defined as a maximum mid-expiratory flow (MMEF) <65% of predicted value (PV) or MMEF
Results:
Among 3351 participants (97.6% Caucasian, 55.7% female sex, mean age 62.7 years), we observed MMEF <65% PV in 425 (12.7%) and MMEF
Conclusions:
The observed low prevalence of SAD of 5.0-12.7% depending on criteria employed may be related to lower PM2.5 exposure. Smoking was the main factor associated with SAD in an area with low PM2.5 exposure. Employing a MMEF threshold <65% PV carries a risk of SAD overdiagnosis in elderly individuals.
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