|
PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an increasing cause of chronic morbidity and mortality around the world. Prevalence of COPD among ethnic populations is not well documented. To study the prevalence of COPD among the marginalized Gond tribes of Kundam Block of Madhya Pradesh state in central India, cross sectional survey was conducted amongst the Gond tribes of Kundam Block, during the years 2007 to 2009. Screening was done by medical officer based on the clinical signs and symptoms such as cough with mucus, breathlessness or dyspnoea and exhaustion. Stethoscope was used to identify wheezing or other abnormal chest sounds. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic and smoking habits. Prevalence of COPD among tobacco users was calculated. Of 2970 tobacco users screened, 23% were tobacco smokers, 72% were tobacco chewers and 5% used tobacco both for smoking and chewing. Prevalence of COPD was 9.4% among smokers, 0.6% among tobacco chewers and 6.5% among mixed users. The distribution of COPD cases was significantly more among smoking males, aged more than 45 years. The findings of the present study showed a direct correlation with tobacco use and COPD. There is a need of effective campaign for reducing smoking and counseling to lower the incidence of COPD.