J Thorac Dis. 2012 June 1
COPD in India: Iceberg or volcano?
Arvind B. Bhome
The non-smoker’s COPD is an entity which needs to be documented in greater detail and this task has to be done by researchers in Asia, Africa, Latin America and other developing regions of the world. COPD among non-smokers may turn out to be a misery seeking missile. A study of 12,000 slum dwellers from Pune in Maharashtra revealed a questionnaire based COPD prevalence rate of 6.5% (8.5% in males and 4.5% in females).
Of those diagnosed with COPD, 69% were never smokers. Absence of a separate kitchen for cooking was an independent risk factor associated with COPD prevalence in males (OR=1.95, P=0.02) while use of kerosene fuel for cooking increased the odds of COPD in females by around 2.5 times (OR=2.48, P=0.01)
