[The prevalence of respiratory symptoms, bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis (simple and obstructive) in a representative sample of the adult rural population].

A representative sample of an adult population living in a rural area (1001 adult subjects aged 18 and above) was submitted to the ECHRS standardised questionnaire (administrated by interview) and performed lung function tests (ventilatory). The most frequent respiratory symptoms were chronic cough (especially in males and smokers) and intermittent dyspnoea (in females more prevalent than in males). All symptoms showed a higher frequency after 50 years. Obstructive ventilatory impairment was found in 12.29% of the subjects, more frequently in males, ex-smokers and above 50 years of age. The prevalence of asthma bronchiale was 4.09%; the subjects over 40 years of age, the non-smokers and the females showed higher figures. Chronic simple bronchitis was found in 5.69% of examined subjects, especially in males and smokers. The prevalence of chronic obstructive bronchitis was as high as 2.29%, more prevalent in males, smokers, over 40 years. The prevalence rates found in this study are higher than those observed in a rural population living in an unpolluted area: this fact may be ascribed to the noxious effect of the air pollution due to the chemical industrial plants situated in the vicinity of the studied population.