Changes in the prevalence of COPD in Korea between 2001 and 2011 in the KNHANES data.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious public health problem. Understanding the longitudinal trend in prevalence is important for characterizing the burden of COPD and planning health services.



We analyzed the prevalence of airflow obstruction between 2001 and 2011 using data from Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (2001, n = 2217; 2011, n = 3101). Participants >40 years of age with an FEV1/FVC <0.7 were defined as having COPD. We used data from the Population and Housing Census, which was conducted by Statistics Korea in 2010, to compare the prevalence of COPD after standardizing by age.



The crude prevalence of COPD was not significantly different between 2001 and 2011 (2001, 13.0%; 2011, 13.2%), but the age-standardized prevalence of COPD decreased significantly over the 10-year period (2001, 15.7%; 2011, 12.4%). While significant decreases were observed for ex-smokers and current smokers, significant increases were noted for subjects who smoked <20 pack-years and those with a BMI ≤18.5 kg/m2. The prevalence of mild and severe COPD decreased (2001, mild 8.5%, severe 1.4%; 2011, mild 5.4%, severe 0.5%), while the prevalence of moderate COPD increased (2001, 5.7%; 2011, 6.4%) after age standardization.



We report a reduction in the age-standardized prevalence of COPD in Korea from 2001 to 2011. Continued surveillance and early prevention are required because the socioeconomic burden of COPD remains substantial.
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea; Lung Research Institute of Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
Ji Young
JY
Hong
Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonseiro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea.
Ji Ye
JY
Jung
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea; Lung Research Institute of Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
Myung Goo
MG
Lee
Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonseiro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea.
Se Kyu
SK
Kim
Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonseiro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea.
Joon
J
Chang
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea; Lung Research Institute of Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: doclcy@hallym.or.kr.
Chang Youl
CY
Lee
Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonseiro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ysamkim@yuhs.ac.
Young Sam
YS
Kim
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D015995:Prevalence; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014797:Vital Capacity / Q000502:physiology
Chronic obstructive lung disease; Prevalence; Smoking