Prevalence of asthma in Koroška region
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of asthma and other pulmonary diseases in Slovenia and specifically in the municipality of Slovenj Gradec. Results: The prevalence of asthma in Slovenia is 16.3 %, while in Slovenj Gradec it is 22.6 +/- 4.2 %. Among 32 respondents in Slovenj Gradec we found 7 patients with asthma, 7 patients with a combination of asthma and rhinitis, 9 patients with rhinitis, 3 patients with reflux esophagitis, 1 patient had COPD and 1 had chronic bronchitis. Conclusions: From our study we can conclude that prevalence of asthma in the municipality of Slovenj Gradec is above average, but the distribution of chronic lung diseases by type is similar as elsewhere in Slovenia. Factors that could contribute to the higher prevalence of asthma in Slovenj Gradec are: coal and heavy metal mining, black metallurgy, industry with use of organic solvents and the standard of living that is below the average in Slovenia. In order to exclude systemic problems in assessing the prevalence of asthma in the country, we should repeat the diagnostic procedure including metacholine challenge testing in all people with newly diagnosed asthma.Downloads
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