TY - JOUR T1 - Undiagnosed COPD in adults 40 years and older: Reports from the Tunisian Population-Based Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease Study JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2021.PA3505 VL - 58 IS - suppl 65 SP - PA3505 AU - Myriam Denguezli AU - Hager Daldoul AU - Nadia Lakhdar AU - André Amaral AU - Peter Burney Y1 - 2021/09/05 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/58/suppl_65/PA3505.abstract N2 - We investigated the underdiagnosis of COPD and its determinants based on the Tunisian Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study.We collected information on respiratory history symptoms and risk factors for COPD. Post-bronchodilator (Post-BD) FEV1/FVC<the lower limit of normal (LLN) was used to define COPD. Undiagnosed COPD was considered when participants had post-BD FEV1/FVC<LLN but were not given a diagnosis of emphysema, chronic bronchitis or COPD. 730 adults aged 40 or over selected from the general population were interviewed. 661 subjects completed spirometry, 35 (5.3%) had COPD and 28 (80%) were undiagnosed. The highest prevalence was found in women (100%). In comparison to patients with an established COPD diagnosis, undiagnosed subjects had a lower education level, milder airway obstruction (Post-BD FEV1 z-score 2.2 vs. 3.7, p<0.001), fewer occurrence of wheezing (42.9% vs. 100%, p=0.009), less previous lung function test (3.6% vs. 42.8%, p=0.019) and less visits to the physician (32.1% vs. 85.7%, p=0.020) in the past year. The probability of COPD underdiagnosis was higher in subjects who had mild to moderate COPD and in those who did not visit a clinician and did not perform a spirometry in the last year.Improve the diagnosis of COPD in Tunisia is necessary. Wider use of spirometry should reduce the incidence of undiagnosed COPD. Spirometry should also predominately be performed not only in elderly male smokers but also in younger women in whom the prevalence of underdiagnosis is the highest.FootnotesCite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2021; 58: Suppl. 65, PA3505.This abstract was presented at the 2021 ERS International Congress, in session “Prediction of exacerbations in patients with COPD”.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only). ER -