Abstract:

Objective To investigate the changes in prevalences of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in people aged no less than 60 years in Shanghai urban area, and explore the causes. Methods Epidemiological investigations of prevalences of COPD, lung function and high risk factors were conducted in 767 people aged no less than 60 years in 4 communities of Shanghai urban area between 2008 and 2009, and the data were compared with those obtain from 333 people between 2003 to 2004. Results The data of 710 people investigated between 2008 and 2009 were effective, with the overall prevalence of COPD being 14.61%, which was 8.3% higher than that obtained between 2003 and 2004. It was revealed by investigations between 2008 and 2009 that smoking, age, gender and childhood pulmonary infection were high risk factors of COPD. Both FEV1 and FVC decreased with age increase in people with COPD and those without COPD, and there was no significant difference in the absolute value of decrease with age increase between people with COPD and those without COPD （P>0.05）. Conclusion The prevalence of COPD between 2008 and 2009 is significantly higher than that between 2003 and 2004 in people aged no less than 60 years in Shanghai urban area. Smoking, age and childhood pulmonary infection are the main risk factors of COPD. One of the reasons leading to the increase of prevalence of COPD may be the aging of population.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, epidemiology, prevalence