Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 15:15:2189-2198.
doi: 10.2147/COPD.S262050. eCollection 2020.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among Agriculturists in a Rural Community, Central Thailand

Peranut Kitjakrancharoensin  1 , Kittipong Yasan  1 , Kwanjira Hongyantarachai  1 , Kanoot Ratanachokthorani  1 , Jutinun Thammasarn  1 , Dantham Kuwuttiwai  1 , Thunpimol Ekanaprach  1 , Rawisut Jittakarm  1 , Rungroj Nuntapravechpun  1 , Sirasih Hotarapavanon  1 , Spain Kulrattanarak  1 , Sarisa Tongkaew  1 , Sirivimon Deemeechai  1 , Mathirut Mungthin  2 , Ram Rangsin  3 , Virissorn Wongsrichanalai  4 , Boonsub Sakboonyarat  3
Affiliations

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among Agriculturists in a Rural Community, Central Thailand

Peranut Kitjakrancharoensin et al. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. .

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among agriculturists in a remote rural community in central Thailand.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2020. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using standardized questionnaires to determine demographic characteristics and risk behaviors. COPD was defined by the spirometric criterion for airflow limitation constituting a postbronchodilator fixed ratio of FEV1/FVC <0.70 following the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines 2019. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for COPD, and the magnitude of association was presented as adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI).

Results: A total of 546 agriculturists were enrolled in the study. The overall prevalence of COPD was 5.5% (95% CI: 3.6-7.4). The prevalence of COPD among males was 8.0% (95% CI: 4.7-11.3), and 3.2% (95% CI: 1.1-5.2) among females. The risk factors of COPD included age ≥60 years old (AOR 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1-7.0), higher intensity of smoking (AOR 1.1, 95% CI: 1.0-1.1), swine farm worker (AOR 4.1, 95% CI: 1.7-10.3), cattle farm worker (AOR 3.3, 95% CI: 1.4-8.2) and home cooking (AOR 2.7, 95% CI: 0.8-9.7).

Conclusion: Our data emphasized that COPD was one of the significant health problems among agriculturists in a rural community. Agricultural jobs such as animal farmers and behavioral factors such as smoking were associated with COPD. Effective public health interventions, especially, modifying risk behaviors, should be promoted in remote rural areas to prevent the disease and reduce its morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: COPD; Thailand; cattle; farmers; smoking; swine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest in this work.

References

    1. GBD 2017 Causes of Death Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 19802017: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2017. Lancet. 2018;392(10159):1736–1788. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32203-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mathers CD, Loncar D. Projections of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Med. 2006;3(11):e442. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030442 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Varmaghani M, Dehghani M, Heidari E, Sharifi F, Moghaddam SS, Farzadfar F. Global prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: systematic review and meta-analysis. East Mediterr Heal J. 2019;25(1):47–57. doi:10.26719/emhj.18.014 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Saenghirunvattana S, Kongngeon V, Aeimrerksiri B, et al. Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in Thailand: incidence, prevalence, present status and future trends. J Med Assoc Thai. 2001;84(10):1407–1411. - PubMed
    1. Gunen H, Hacievliyagil SS, Kosar F, et al. Factors affecting survival of hospitalised patients with COPD. Eur Respir J. 2005;26(2):234–241. doi:10.1183/09031936.05.00024804 - DOI - PubMed