Respiratory symptoms in patients consulting at a primary health care unit of Goiania-GO

• Autor(a) principal: Silva Júnior, José Laerte Rodrigues
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Padilha, Thiago Fintelman, Rezende, Jordana Eduardo, Rabelo, Eliane Consuelo Alves, Ferreira, Anna Carolina Galvão, Rabahi, Marcelo Fouad
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://www.rbmfc.org.br/rbmfc/article/view/825
• topic: Signs and Symptoms; Respiratory; Respiration Disorders; Health Centers; Risk Factors; Signos y Síntomas Respiratorios; Transtornos Respiratorios; Centros de Salud; Factores de Riesgo; Sinais e Sintomas Respiratórios; Transtornos Respiratórios; Centros de Saúde; Fatores de Risco; Sinais e Sintomas Respiratórios; Centros de Saúde; Fatores de Risco

Objective: to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in subjects attending a primary healthcare unit, describing the distributions of these symptoms and of risk factors for respiratory disease. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted on subjects attending an outpatient primary health care unit in Goiania-GO. During one year, forty-four random observations categorized by season were made. Chi-square test, analysis of variance, correlation and univariate robust regression were used to perform the statistical analyses. Results: among the 3,354 subjects enrolled, 13.7% (458/3,354) had respiratory symptoms. Cough was the most prevalent symptom, occurring in 91% (417/458) of the cases. Among all subjects, 4.8% (161/3354) had cough for more than two weeks. The proportion of respiratory symptoms (cough, dyspnea and wheezing) did not differ significantly across seasons and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in winter, autumn, summer and spring were, respectively, 20%, 14%, 11.9% and 7.4%. The average duration of cough in the elderly was significantly longer than in the other age groups (p=0,004). Smokers, former smokers, low weight subjects and subjects reporting previous pneumonia, asthma or COPD also showed longer average duration of cough, but these differences were not statistically significant. The regression model showed that the duration of cough increased with age (r2=0,08; p=0,0001). Conclusion: subjects with respiratory diseases account for a significant proportion of the demand for healthcare. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms is higher during the winter and the average duration of cough increases with age.