Prevalence and Risk Factors of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in an Urban Poor Locality of Bengaluru, South India - A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: COPD is a worldwide public health problem; approximately 5% of all global deaths are attributed to COPD. Among chronic respiratory conditions, COPD contributes to 50% of the disease burden and 70% of DALYs in India. In India, it accounted for 9.5% of all deaths. There is limited community-based data on the prevalence of COPD and its risk factors in India. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban poor locality of Bangalore. Sample size was calculated to be 1560. Population proportion to size (PPS) sampling technique was used. Information was collected from subjects aged >30 years through the interview method using a pretested semistructured questionnaire. A spirometry test was used to diagnose COPD. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and percentages were used. A Chi-square test was used to assess the association between categorical variables. Multivariate logistic regression was done. Results: The prevalence of COPD among individuals aged above 30 years was 10.38%. The prevalence among males was 14.4% and among females was 7.1%. The majority (74.06% had a moderate to severe stage of COPD. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, the association of the risk factors for COPD was found to be statistically significant with age, history of tobacco smoke, smokeless tobacco, type of fuel used, biomass fuel exposure, ETS exposure, and indoor air pollution. Conclusion: The prevalence of COPD among the population aged more than 30 years in an urban poor locality of a metropolitan city is high, with males having a higher prevalence than females.