Asthma, chronic bronchitis and respiratory symptoms among adults in Estonia according to a postal questionnaire

Abstract

Epidemiological studies indicate a lower prevalence of asthma in Eastern than Western Europe. This study of the prevalence of asthma, chronic bronchitis, and respiratory symptoms was performed in three different regions of Estonia, a state incorporated in the Soviet Union until 1991. A postal questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 24,307 of the population aged 15-64 years. The response rate was 77.6%. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 2.0% or considerably lower than in Northern and Western European countries. The prevalence of wheezing last 12 months, 21.7%, recurrent wheeze, 13.3%, and attacks of shortness of breath, 12.5%, were similar or even higher compared with prevalence rates found in the Nordic countries. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed chronic bronchitis was 10.7%, and was higher among women than in men, although the proportion of current smokers among men, 57%, was considerably greater than in women, 28%. A possible explanation to the high prevalence of respiratory symptoms also among non-smoking women may be exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in small, crowded Estonian homes. Diagnostic criteria based on the Soviet-time definitions is discussed as a possible explanation to the low prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma and high prevalence of chronic bronchitis in Estonia compared with other Northern European countries.

Passive smoking and respiratory symptoms in the FinEsS Study

“…Smokers, former smokers, and subjects reporting "I don9t leave home" were excluded. Prevalence rates of respiratory symptoms in this population have recently been reported [15].…”

Allergic Sensitization to Common Airborne Allergens among Adults in Estonia

“…The study population was randomly selected from 17,525 responders to a postal questionnaire study of the general population that has been previously described together with the questionnaire and interview results [14, 15]. The sample that received an invitation to the study consisted of 2,675 persons (1,332 subjects in Tallinn and 672 both in Saaremaa and Narva).…”

Alarmingly high prevalence of smoking and symptoms of bronchitis in young women in Sweden: a population-based questionnaire study

“…The questions were based on the Swedish OLIN study questionnaire [12][13][14][15][16] which contains items about obstructive respiratory symptoms and diseases, smoking, and other possible determinants of disease. The questionnaire was developed mainly from the British Medical Research Council questionnaire and has been used in several large-scale studies in the Nordic and Baltic countries.…”

“…The questionnaire was developed mainly from the British Medical Research Council questionnaire and has been used in several large-scale studies in the Nordic and Baltic countries. [12][13][14][15][16] A comparison of the OLIN and Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA 2 LEN) questionnaires concludes that questions about bronchitis are more detailed in the OLIN questionnaire. 17 Questions on common asthma symptoms are similar or identical in the two questionnaires, and they yielded similar estimates of prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases in the same population.…”