Comorbidities associated with COPD in the Middle East and North Africa region: association with severity and exacerbations.

Objective: To assess the frequency of comorbidities in subjects with COPD and their association with respiratory symptom severity and COPD exacerbations.

Materials And Methods: This was an analysis of the BREATHE study, a cross-sectional survey of COPD conducted in the general population of eleven countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Pakistan. The study population consisted of a sample of subjects with COPD for whom the presence of comorbidities was documented.

Distribution of body mass index among subjects with COPD in the Middle East and North Africa region: data from the BREATHE study.

Background: Data describing the potential relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and body mass index (BMI) are limited within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Objective: To evaluate the distribution of BMI among subjects with COPD in the general population of the MENA region.

Methods: This study was a subanalysis of the BREATHE study, a cross-sectional survey of COPD conducted in the general population of ten countries in the MENA region and Pakistan.

Psychometric evaluation of the COPD assessment test: data from the BREATHE study in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The objective of this study was to assess the validity and performance of the Arabic and Turkish versions of the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) for evaluating the severity and impact of COPD symptoms. The data were obtained from the BREATHE study in the Middle East and North Africa region, a large general population survey of COPD conducted in ten countries of the region (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates), using a standardised methodology. A total of 62,086 subjects were screened, of whom a random sample of 5,681 subjects were administered the CAT by telephone.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the adult population within the Middle East and North Africa region: rationale and design of the BREATHE study.

The objective of the BREATHE study was to estimate the regional prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms within the general population in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region and to document risk factors, disease characteristics and management using a standardised methodology. This was an observational population-based survey performed in ten countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates), together with Pakistan. A general population sample of 10,000 subjects ≥ 40 years of age in each country or zone was generated from random telephone numbers.