Prevalence and factors associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Kavre, Nepal

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common health problem with increasing prevalence all over the world. COPD among people in Nepal is a major public health concern. Objectives: This present study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with COPD in Nepal. Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study. The study was conducted among patient visited at Dhulikhel Hospital Kathmandu University Hospital, Kavre district, Nepal. A total of 470 patient aged ≥ 50 years were selected using stratified random sampling method. The COPD patients were diagnosed based on spirometry and chest X-ray findings. Data were entered into Epi-data manager 3.1 and analysed using STATA 18. Descriptive statistics were performed to describe participant characteristics and multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the factors associated with the COPD. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the total 470, the overall prevalence of COPD was 19.36% (95% CI: 16.02-23.20). The mean age of respondent was 64.84 years (±10.01). After adjusting for covariates, the study found that increasing age was strongly associated with COPD: 61-70 years old (AOR = 6.78, 95% CI: 2.88-15.99, P < 0.001), 71-80 years old (AOR= 11.78, 95% CI: 5.75-31.80, P <0.01), and > 80 years old (AOR=11.76, 95% CI: 4.07-34.39, P <0.01). However, literacy among the patients (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.24-0.73, P = 0.002) and no family history of COPD (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.19-0.60, P < 0.001) were less likely to be associated with COPD. Conclusion: Nearly one fifth of the respondents had COPD which still remains as a huge hidden burden of high prevalent disease in Nepal. Educational status, aging, traditional firewood cooking and genetic predisposition were major risk factors among COPD cases in Nepal.