title: Prevalence of chronic sputum and associated factors in Korean adults.
abstract: Chronic sputum is a troublesome symptom in many respiratory diseases. The prevalence of chronic sputum varies from 1.2% to 13% according to the country. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of chronic sputum and to find its associated factors in a general Korean population. We analyzed the data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010 and 2011. A total number of 6,783 subjects aged 40 yr or more were enrolled in this study with 3,002 men and 3,781 women. As a result, the prevalence of chronic sputum was 6.3% (n=430). Significant risk factors for chronic sputum by multivariate analysis were: age (≥ 70 yr) (odds ratio [OR], 1.954; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.308-2.917), current smoking (OR, 4.496; 95% CI, 3.001-6.734), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR, 1.483; 95% CI, 1.090-2.018), and tuberculosis (OR, 1.959; 95% CI, 1.307-2.938). In conclusion, the prevalence of chronic sputum in Korea was in the intermediate range compared with other countries. Smoking is a preventable risk factor identified in this study, and major respiratory diseases, such as COPD and tuberculosis, should be considered in subjects with chronic sputum.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Bo-Ram
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2532-2562
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Yu-Il
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5754-4813
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Sunmin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8560-4369
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Ho-Sung
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0556-453X
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong-Hoon
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2075-4702
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Yeong
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5511-5599
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Jung
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3002-6407
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Soo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5121-4488
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Jae
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4837-1321
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyu-Sik
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4982-6941
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Chul
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7019-7687
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Chul
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8349-7697
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Associated Factor; Chronic Sputum; Prevalence