The annual prevalence and incidence of CAO for population in the study cohort increased to the peak in 2 to 3 years after the launch of the universal health insurance, and the incidence declined afterward. But the prevalence of the disease was flattened on approximately similar level after the peak year. A study in the Netherlands for asthma prevalence in children also reported a reversing trend in the period of…
Case Characteristics In this study cohort, there were 4,568 patients with at least one claim of primary diagnosis as CAO services during the 7-year study period for the population aged > 40 years (Table 1). The overall average annual prevalence and incidence rates of CAO were 2.48% and 0.66%, respectively, for these age groups. There were more male than female patients, with male-to-female ratios ranged from 1.47 to 2.66 by…
Chronic pulmonary diseases (CPDs) are heterogeneous disorders of acute/chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, COPD, and chronic airway obstruction (CAO) not elsewhere classified. These diseases have attracted increasing attention because of the augmentation of prevalence and mortality, and the economic cost worldwide. Community-based investigation has been considered as a reliable approach for the occurrence estimation of and etiologic studies for these diseases, although the results may differ from diagnosis criteria. Population-based insurance…