Is COPD a rare disease? Prevalence and identification rates in smokers aged 40 years and over within general practice in Germany

摘要

Background. According to literature, COPD rates are high in spite of decreasing rates of main risk factors smoking and air pollution in developed countries. general practice is a good place to survey unbiased prevalence rates. Ten studies done in general practice over the last 20 years found prevalence rates among smokers between 13.1% and 92.1%.