The Shiraz Adult Respiratory Disease Study, a Population-Based Survey: Rationale, Design and Methods

Background: Despite preventable and curable nature of chronic obstructive respiratory diseases (CORDs), these are still remains as a growing problem, both in developed and developing countries. One of the major reasons for this ignorance is lacking of precise information on the prevalence of CORDs and their major determinants. Objectives: This protocol study aimed at providing a population-based data for the prevalence of CORDs and exploring its socioeconomic determinants in adult population of Shiraz, Iran. Methods: This adult respiratory disease study was designed as a cross sectional survey among urban and suburban population of Shiraz, Iran, during August to December 2015. The local ethics committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences authorized the protocol, which adhered to the tenets of the declaration of Helsinki (1975). The study included more than 6,000 noninstitutionalized inhabitants older than 20 years, from the 9 municipal districts of Shiraz city. The sample consisted of 0.5% of the 1,219,237 total inhabitants in the survey area. The sample selection was based on the stratified random sampling method proportionate to the number of municipal districts and strata. After obtaining official permissions, trained interviewers visited the selected homes and completed the data collection form and main questionnaire. Following the completion of recruitment and an initial analysis process, we called and invited the participants with the COPD diagnosis score more than 19.5 to pass the spirometry test in the clinic. The main questionnaire that covered respiratory symptoms was developed from prior validated questionnaires that had been used in several studies. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 15.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois, USA). A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: In this protocol study, we shared our standard protocol considering perfect selection of the study samples and precise examination procedure with effective quality assurance strategies. Conclusions: We anticipate that future reports from the Shiraz adult respiratory disease study would estimate the prevalence of CORDs and their related determinants in the community. Moreover, it will identify patients who should be targeted by respiratory disease prevention programs.