Estimating prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the Southern Cone of Latin America: how different spirometric criteria may affect disease burden and health policies

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. The study aimed to determine and compare the prevalence of COPD in the general population aged 45-74 years old according to fixed ratio and lower limit of normal (LLN) thresholds in four cities in the Southern Cone of Latin America. METHODS: The Pulmonary Risk in South America (PRISA) study used a 4-stage stratified sampling method to select 5814 participants from 4 cities in the Southern Cone of Latin America (Bariloche and Marcos Paz, Argentina; Temuco, Chile; and Pando-Barros Blancos, Uruguay). Data on demographic information, medical history, risk factors, pre-bronchodilator and post-bronchodilator spirometry were obtained using a standard protocol. According to GOLD, COPD was defined as a post-bronchodilator ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) over forced vital capacity (FVC) less than 70%. The LLN threshold was defined as the lower fifth percentile for predicted FEV1/FVC, and was evaluated as an alternative COPD definition. RESULTS: Overall COPD prevalence was 9.3% (95% CI 8.4, 10.2%), and men had a higher prevalence [11.8% (95% CI 10.3, 13.3%)] than women [7.3% (95% CI 6.2, 8.3%)] with the fixed ratio. Overall COPD prevalence using LLN was 4.7% (95% CI 4.1, 5.3%), higher in men: 5.8% (95% CI 4.7, 6.8%) than women: 3.9% (95% CI 3.1, 4.7%). COPD prevalence was significantly higher among those who were older, had <high-school education and lower body-mass index, were cigarette smokers, and had self-reported history of asthma and tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: First, COPD and its risk factors are highly prevalent in the general population of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Second, the prevalence of COPD by LLN criterion was significantly lower with lesser degrees of severity compared to fixed ratio of FEV1/FVC. Implementing LLN criterion instead of fixed ratio of FEV1/FVC may reduce the risk of over-diagnosis of COPD, although further prognostic studies of COPD adverse outcomes should be conducted using both definitions. Third, these data suggest that national efforts on the prevention, treatment, and control of COPD should be a public health priority in the Southern Cone of Latin America. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12890-017-0537-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.