The implications for practice and policy of new national prevalence data
In this issue of the Journal, Toelle and colleagues provide up-to-date information about obstructive lung diseases in Australia in their report on the Australian arm of the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study.1 The BOLD study is an international collaboration comparing rates of obstructive lung disease in people aged 40 years or older in 12 countries. Sydney’s place in this international league table was reported previously,2 but now we have access to Australia-wide data, with six sites chosen specifically to ensure adequate representation of the states and territories and, importantly, to include Indigenous groups. Given that the overall participation rate in this study was only 27%, it is possible that the disease burden may be greater or less than estimated, but these data nevertheless allow more robust international comparisons than have previously been possible.
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- 1. Toelle BG, Xuan W, Bird TE, et al. Respiratory symptoms and illness in older Australians: the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study. Med J Aust 2013; 198: 144-148.
- 2. Buist AS, McBurnie MA, Vollmer WM, et al; BOLD Collaborative Research Group. International variation in the prevalence of COPD (the BOLD Study): a population-based prevalence study. Lancet 2007; 370: 741-750.
- 3. Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Global strategy for the diagnosis, management and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Updated 2010. http://www.goldcopd.org/Guidelines/guideline-2010-gold-report.html (accessed Jan 2013).
- 4. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Plain packaging of tobacco products. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/tobacco-plain (accessed Jan 2013).
- 5. Family Medicine Research Centre, University of Sydney. SAND abstract No. 182 from the BEACH program: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in general practice patients (2). Sydney: FMRC, 2012. http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/fmrc/publications/sand-abstracts/182-COPD.pdf (accessed Jan 2013).
- 6. Walters JA, Walters EH, Nelson M, et al. Factors associated with misdiagnosis of COPD in primary care. Prim Care Respir J 2011; 20: 396-402.
- 7. Zwar NA, Marks GB, Hermiz O, et al. Predictors of accuracy of diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in general practice. Med J Aust 2011; 195: 168-171. <MJA full text>
- 8. Yamasaki A, Hashimoto K, Hasegawa Y, et al. COPD is frequent in conditions of comorbidity in patients treated with various diseases in a university hospital. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2010; 5: 351-355.
- 9. Bastin AJ, Starling L, Ahmed R, et al. High prevalence of undiagnosed and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at first hospital admission with acute exacerbation. Chron Respir Dis 2010; 7: 91-97.
- 10. Garcia-Aymerich J, Serra Pons I, Mannino DM, et al. Lung function impairment, COPD hospitalisations and subsequent mortality. Thorax 2011; 66: 585-590.
- 11. Jeon YH, Jowsey T, Yen L, et al. Achieving a balanced life in the face of chronic illness. Aust J Prim Health 2010; 16: 66-74.
- 12. Jowsey T, Jeon YH, Dugdale P, et al. Challenges for co-morbid chronic illness care and policy in Australia: a qualitative study. Aust New Zealand Health Policy 2009; 6: 22.
- 13. Tsiligianni IG, van der Molen T, Tzanakis NE, et al. A telehealth integrated asthma-COPD service for primary care: a proposal for a pilot feasibility study in Crete, Greece. BMC Res Notes 2010; 3: 198. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-3-198.
No relevant disclosures.