OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the characteristics of users of inhalers and the prevalence of inhaler use among adolescents and adults with self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema.
METHODS:
A population-based study conducted in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, involving 3,670 subjects ≥ 10 years of age, evaluated with a questionnaire.
RESULTS:
Approximately 10% of the sample reported at least one of the respiratory diseases studied. Among those individuals, 59% reported respiratory symptoms in the last year, and, of those, only half reported using inhalers. The use of inhalers differed significantly by socioeconomic status (39% and 61% for the lowest and the highest, respectively, p = 0.01). The frequency of inhaler use did not differ by gender or age. Among the individuals reporting emphysema and inhaler use, the use of the bronchodilator-corticosteroid combination was more common than was that of a bronchodilator alone. Only among the individuals reporting physician-diagnosed asthma and current symptoms was the proportion of inhaler users higher than 50%.
CONCLUSIONS:
In our sample, inhalers were underutilized, and the type of medication used by the individuals who reported emphysema does not seem to be in accordance with the consensus recommendations.
Metered dose inhalers; Asthma; Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Bronchitis; Emphysema; Dry powder inhalers
