ArticleChest2010
Do symptoms predict COPD in smokers?
Article in Chest, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of spirometry as a motivational tool for smoking cessation: a clinical trial, the ESPIMOAT study.BMC family practice · 2013Trial
- Pre-Transplant Heavy Smoking Is Associated with Reduced Survival After Heart Transplantation Due to Infection and Malignancy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Optimal spirometry thresholds for the prediction of chronic airflow obstruction: a multinational longitudinal study.ERJ open research · 2025Article
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Defining Resilience to Smoking-related Lung Disease: A Modified Delphi Approach from SPIROMICS.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2021Article
- Article
- FEFInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2020Article
- Opportunistic screening for COPD in primary care: a pooled analysis of 6,710 symptomatic smokers and ex-smokers.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2019Article
- Predictors of COPD in symptomatic smokers and ex-smokers seen in primary care.Chronic respiratory disease · 2018Article
- Pain problems for patients with mild and moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - a community-based study in Shanghai.Journal of pain research · 2017Article
- Voluntary lung function screening to reveal new COPD cases in southern Italy.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2017Article
- A retrospective study of two populations to test a simple rule for spirometry.BMC family practice · 2016Article
- Office-Based Case Finding for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Older Adults in Primary Care.Canadian respiratory journal · 2016Article
- Dual therapy strategies for COPD: the scientific rationale for LAMA + LABA.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2016Review
- Article
- Development of a simple binary response questionnaire to identify airflow obstruction in a smoking population in Argentina.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2015Article
- Article
- Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in asymptomatic smokers.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2015Article
- Assessment of five different guideline indication criteria for spirometry, including modified GOLD criteria, in order to detect COPD: data from 5,315 subjects in the PLATINO study.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2014Article
- Combined exposure to cigarette smoke and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae drives development of a COPD phenotype in mice.Respiratory research · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe US Preventive Services Task Force recommends against spirometry in the absence of symptoms. However, as much as 50% of COPD cases in the United States remain undiagnosed.
methodsReport of symptoms, smoking history, and spirometric data were collected from subjects screened for a work-related medical evaluation (N = 3,955). Prevalence of airflow obstruction and respiratory symptoms were assessed. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and relative risks of predicting symptoms and smoking history for COPD were calculated.
resultsForty-four percent of smokers in our sample had airways obstruction (AO). Of these, 36% reported a diagnosis of or treatment for COPD. Odds ratio (95% CI) for AO with smoking (> or = 20 pack-years) was 3.73 (3.12- 4.45), 1.98 (1.73-2.27) for cough, 1.79 (1.55-2.08) for dyspnea, 1.95 (1.70-2.34) for sputum, and 2.59 (2.26-2.97) for wheeze. Respiratory symptoms were reported by 92% of smokers with AO, 86% smokers with restriction, 76% smokers with normal spirometry, and 73% of nonsmokers. Sensitivity (92% vs 90%), specificity (19% vs 22%), positive (47% vs 40%) and negative (75% vs 80%) predictive values for the presence of one or more symptoms were similar between smokers and all subjects.
conclusionsCOPD is underdiagnosed in the United States. Symptoms are frequent in subjects with AO and increase their risk for COPD, but add little beyond age and smoking history to the predictive value of spirometry. In view of the high prevalence of symptoms and their poor predictive value, a simpler and more effective approach would be to screen older smokers.
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