Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with breathlessness in Australia: weighted using the 2016 Australian census

Brett G Toelle; Rosario D Ampon; Michael J Abramson; Alan L James; Graeme P Maguire; Richard Wood-Baker; David P Johns; Guy B Marks

doi:10.1111/imj.15325

Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with breathlessness in Australia: weighted using the 2016 Australian census

Intern Med J. 2021 May;51(5):784-787. doi: 10.1111/imj.15325.

Authors

Brett G Toelle^{1

2}, Rosario D Ampon³, Michael J Abramson⁴, Alan L James⁵, Graeme P Maguire⁶, Richard Wood-Baker⁷, David P Johns⁷, Guy B Marks^{3

8}

Affiliations

¹ Woolcock Emphysema Centre, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ Australian Centre for Airways Disease Monitoring, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶ Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁷ College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁸ South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 34047039
DOI: 10.1111/imj.15325

Abstract

Access to up-to-date Australian disease prevalence estimates assists health services and consumer organisations to plan and allocate resources. The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study was conducted between 2006 and 2012 and provided chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (post-bronchodilator airflow limitation) prevalence estimates weighted to the 2006 Australian census. Using the 2016 Australian census, an updated prevalence estimate of all COPD is 8.30% (95% confidence interval = 6.59%-10.01%) for adults aged 40 or more years in Australia and includes 2.52% with mild breathlessness, 0.99% with moderate breathlessness and 0.91% with severe breathlessness.

Keywords: COPD; breathlessness; prevalence; spirometry.

MeSH terms

Adult
Australia / epidemiology
Censuses*
Dyspnea / diagnosis
Dyspnea / epidemiology
Forced Expiratory Volume
Humans
Prevalence
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / diagnosis
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / epidemiology
Spirometry

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding