De haalbaarheid van het meten van de CARA-prevalentie in

Abstract

The feasibility of monitoring the prevalence of Chronic Non-Specific Lung Diseases (CNSLD) within the framework of the Monitoring Project on Cardiovascular Risk Factors was investigated. A self-administered questionnaire on respiratory symptoms was tested and lung function measurements were performed in 213 respondents in Amsterdam. There were no apparent problems for responders to fill out the questionnaire, although small improvements in lay-out should be made. The lung function measurements took 10 minutes per responder on average. Less than 6% of the respondents had a coefficient of variation of 5% or more. It was concluded that the performance of the measurements by the paramedical assistant was satisfactory. Almost 30% of the responders reported one or more respiratory symptoms. The prevalence of separate symptoms varied from 2% (asthma) to 17-18% (wheezing). The prevalence of CNSLD based on a combination of questionnaire information and lung function measurements was almost 13% (severity grade 3 or more). These figures are in the same order of magnitude as prevalence figures that were observed in earlier Dutch studies. It is recommended to incorporate the CNSLD questionnaire that was used in the feasibility study, into the Monitoring Project on Chronic Diseases and to include lung function measurements in the medical examination.