Effects of active and passive smoking on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease prevalance

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to evaluate the effects of risk factors on COPD mainly active and passive smoking in individuals 40 years and older. The study was conducted in Balçova District which is an urban area.Minimun sample size of 380 individuals was determined by using random numbers table after making stratification based on the population of the neighborhood in this cross-sectional study. If post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio was found <70% diagnosis of COPD was made based on the 2008 guideline of Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).Totally 306 individuals were evaluated for COPD and participation rate was 80.5%.Prevalence of COPD was determined as 11.8%. The probability of having COPD was 8.2 (95% CI=2.7-24.7) times significantly higher among smokers who smoked more than 20 package*years compared to non-smokers at the logistic regression analysis. The presence of passive smoking at the household before marriage and after marriage, also at workplace did not increase the probability of having COPD significantly. Age and individual?s monthly income was found as other determinants of COPD existence.Key words: COPD prevalence, active cigarette smoking, passive smoking, COPD risk factors.