ArticlePloS one2017
Community prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms in rural Malawi: Implications for policy.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in East Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International health · 2024Pooled it
- Specialist to non-specialist teleconsultations in chronic respiratory disease management: A systematic review.Journal of global health · 2021Pooled it
- Burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Ghana and globally from 1990 to 2021, with projections through 2050: a systematic analysis based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Factors associated with self-reported diagnosed asthma in urban and rural Malawi: Observations from a population-based study of non-communicable diseases.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Associated Factors of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among Adults in Neno District, Malawi: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2024Article
- Article
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- A community-based cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and perceptions about asthma among healthy adults in rural South India.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2021Article
- Predictors for detecting chronic respiratory diseases in community surveys: A pilot cross-sectional survey in four South and South East Asian low- and middle-income countries.Journal of global health · 2021Review
- Validation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity score (COPDSS) for primary care in a Colombian populationBiomedica : revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud · 2020Article
- Non-communicable respiratory disease in Malawi: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2020Article
- Non-communicable respiratory disease and air pollution exposure in Malawi: a prospective cohort study.Thorax · 2020Article
- Article
- The burden of non-TB lung disease presenting to TB clinics in The Gambia: preliminary data in the XpertPublic health action · 2019Article
- Respiratory Symptoms and Lung Function among Ethiopian Women in Relation to Household Fuel Use.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Association Between Solid Cooking Fuels and Respiratory Disease Across Socio-Demographic Groups in India.Journal of health & pollution · 2019Article
- Prevalence and correlates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic respiratory symptoms in rural southwestern Uganda: a cross-sectional, population-based study.Journal of global health · 2019Article
- Systematic scoping review protocol of methodologies of chronic respiratory disease surveys in low/middle-income countries.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2019Article
- Measuring the impact of household energy consumption on respiratory diseases in India.Global health research and policy · 2019Article
- Health seeking for chronic lung disease in central Malawi: Adapting existing models using insights from a qualitative study.PloS one · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNo community prevalence studies have been done on chronic respiratory symptoms of cough, wheezing and shortness of breath in adult rural populations in Malawi. Case detection rates of tuberculosis (TB) and chronic airways disease are low in resource-poor primary health care facilities.
objectiveTo understand the prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and recorded diagnoses of TB in rural Malawian adults in order to improve case detection and management of these diseases.
methodsA population proportional, cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the proportion of the population with chronic respiratory symptoms that had a diagnosis of tuberculosis or chronic airways disease in two rural communities in Malawi. Households were randomly selected using Google Earth Pro software. Smart phones loaded with Open Data Kit Essential software were used for data collection. Interviews were conducted with 15795 people aged 15 years and above to enquire about symptoms of chronic cough, wheeze and shortness of breath.
resultsOverall 3554 (22.5%) participants reported at least one of these respiratory symptoms. Cough was reported by 2933, of whom 1623 (55.3%) reported cough only and 1310 (44.7%) combined with wheeze and/or shortness of breath. Only 4.6% (164/3554) of participants with chronic respiratory symptoms had one or more of the following diagnoses in their health passports (patient held medical records): TB, asthma, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
conclusionsThe high prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms coupled with limited recorded diagnoses in patient-held medical records in these rural communities suggests a high chronic respiratory disease burden and unmet health need.
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