Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the U.S. working population: A study of the 1997–2004 National Health Interview Survey data

To estimate the national prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the U.S. working population and identify industries and occupations with the highest COPD prevalences, we analyzed aggregated data for 1997–2004 on National Health Interview Survey respondents aged ≥18 years who were employed during the week prior to the interview. We defined COPD as positive responses to questions on the presence of doctor-diagnosed chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. The overall estimated COPD prevalence among the working population was 4.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]=3.9–4.1). The prevalence was higher among women (5.4%; 95% CI =5.2–5.5) than men (2.8%; 95% CI=2.6–2.9); whites (4.2%; 95% CI=4.0–4.3) than blacks (3.3%; 95% CI=3.0–3.6); smokers (6.5%; 95% CI= 6.2–6.8) than former smokers (4.4%, 95% CI=4.1–4.6) and non-smokers (2.7%; 95% CI=2.6–2.9). Industries associated with the highest COPD prevalences were other educational services (19.3%; 95% CI=7.8–30.9) in smokers and social services, religious and membership organizations (4.6%; 95% CI=3.8–5.4) in nonsmokers. Occupations associated with the highest COPD prevalences were health service (13.6%; 95% CI=11.2–16.0) in smokers and secretaries, stenographers, and typists (4.5%, 95% CI=3.5–5.6) in nonsmokers. These results highlight the need for educational interventions to emphasize the importance of quitting smoking particularly in industries and occupations with high COPD prevalence among smokers to reduce the risk of COPD. Further research is needed to determine risk factors associated with high COPD prevalence observed among nonsmokers.