title: Study of the prevalence of asthma in adults in North India using a standardized field questionnaire.
abstract: Prevalence of asthma was calculated using a Hindi adaptation of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD)-1984 questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to patients with and without asthma to select specific items to define asthma. Questionnaire validity was tested against physician-diagnosed asthma in 753 individuals in the field, with sensitivity and specificity of 63.1% and 98.8%, respectively. The field prevalence study was conducted among 958 men and 1158 women. True population prevalence, calculated from the observed prevalence using specificity and sensitivity of the questionnaire, was 3.94% in urban men, 3.99% in rural men, and 1.27% in both urban and rural women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. skjindal@ch1.dot.net.in
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Jindal
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Jindal
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data