Asthma, smoking, chronic sinusitis risk factors for early COPD in Hispanics, Latinos

Among Hispanics and Latinos in the U.S., asthma was one of the most important risk factors for early COPD, along with smoking and chronic sinusitis, according to new research in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Researchers aimed to evaluate risk factors, prevalence and population attributable risk for developing COPD in Hispanics and Latinos aged younger than 50 years living in the U.S. The researchers assessed data from the population-based Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos on 7,323 participants aged younger than 50 years

The primary outcome was early COPD, which was defined as prebronchodilator FEV₁/FVC ratio less than the lower limit of normal.

In total, 524 participants (median age, 31.9 years; 55.6% men) met the criteria for early COPD. The sex- and age-adjusted prevalence of early COPD was 7.6%. Researchers identified asthma (OR = 3.37; 95% CI, 2.57-4.41), smoking status (OR = 1.65; 95% CI, 1.24-2.2) and chronic sinusitis (OR = 1.71; 95% CI, 1.09-2.66) as risk factors associated with increased odds of early COPD.

“This is one of the largest studies showing an association between chronic sinusitis and early COPD. Chronic sinusitis and early COPD share symptoms (coughing and sputum production), so there may be some diagnostic overlap. We think the findings may encourage further investigation on the link between these two conditions,” Alejandro A. Diaz, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate scientist in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine in the department of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in an ATS press release

The mean population attributable risk was 26.3% for asthma, 22.4% for smoking and 6.9% for chronic sinusitis.

Among smokers, five or less pack-years (OR = 1.04; 0.59-1.82) and five or more pack-years (OR = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.74-1.94) were not associated with early COPD.

Compared with U.S.-born Hispanic and Latino individuals, the odds of early COPD was lower among those younger than 15 years at immigration who lived in the U.S. for less than 10 years (OR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.39-2.27), those younger than 15 years at immigration who lived in the U.S. for 10 years or more (OR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.37-0.84), those aged 15 years or older at immigration who lived in the U.S. for less than 10 years (OR = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.57-1.3) and those aged 15 years or older at immigration who lived in the U.S. for 10 years or more (OR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.42-0.95).

“Although this study cannot tease out the complex interplay between asthma and early COPD, it is known that poorly controlled asthma can lead to fixed airflow obstruction and also asthma has been proposed as a risk factor for COPD,” the researchers wrote. “Collectively, our and prior findings support the notion that asthma might be a risk factor for early COPD, a finding that deserves further research.”

Reference:

Study finds surprising early COPD risks for US Hispanics/Latinos

https://www.newswise.com/articles/study-finds-surprising-early-copd-risks-for-u-s-hispanicslatinos. Published Sept. 15, 2021. Accessed Sept. 17, 2021.