PREVALENCE OF SELF-REPORTED ASTHMA SYMPTOMS IN A FRENCH ELDERLY SAMPLE

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of reported asthm a symptoms in French elderly people according to age, sex and principa l lifetime occupation. PAQUID (Personnes Agees QUID) is a cohort of 37 77 subjects, aged 65 years and over, living at home in the south-west of France. The aim of PAQUID is to study factors of cerebral and funct ional ageing. This cross-sectional study took place during the third y ear of the PAQUID follow-up, and concerned 2406 subjects (63.7% of the initial sample). Two questions were introduced into the PAQUID genera l questionnaire: 'have you ever had asthma?' (cumulative asthma), and 'did you have at least one asthma attack in the last 12 months?' (curr ent asthma). Of 2355 subjects, 144 (6.1%) reported asthma history at s ome point in their life. For 58 (40.3%) subjects, it was in the previo us 12 months. In men, the prevalence rate was 7.3% for cumulative asth ma and 2.8% for current asthma. In women, rates were 5.2% and 2.2%, re spectively. The rates were lower at advanced ages (>85 years) for both males and females. They were particularly high in former farm workers ; 13% reported cumulative asthma and 11% reported at least one asthma attack in the previous 12 months. Farmers appear to have a higher risk of both cumulative [odds ratio (OR): 2.30; 95% confidence interval (C I): 1.00-5.47] and current asthma (OR: 5.35; 95% CI: 1.33-21.50) compa red to white collar workers, despite adjustments on age, sex and smoki ng history. The risk was also significant for manual workers, but only for cumulative asthma.