title: Airflow obstruction in never smokers in five Latin American cities: the PLATINO study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is mostly related to tobacco smoking, a variable proportion of COPD occurs in never smokers. We investigated differences between COPD in never smokers compared with smokers and subjects without COPD.
  
  
  METHODS
  PLATINO is a cross-sectional population-based study of five Latin American cities. COPD was defined as postbronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC <0.70 and FEV(1) <80% of predicted values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 5,315 subjects studied, 2278 were never smokers and 3036 were ever smokers. COPD was observed in 3.5% of never smokers and in 7.5% of ever smokers. Never smokers with COPD were most likely older and reported a medical diagnosis of asthma or previous tuberculosis. Underdiagnosis was as common in obstructed patients who never smoked as in ever smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Never smokers comprised 26% of all individuals with airflow obstruction. Obstruction was associated with female gender, older age and a diagnosis of asthma or tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Mexico City, Mexico. perezpad@servidor.unam.mx
authors.forename: Rogelio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perez-Padilla
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Maria Victorina
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Lopez Varela
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montes de Oca
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muiño
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tálamo
authors.forename: José Roberto
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Brito Jardim
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valdivia
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Baptista Menezes
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking