Little information is available on associations between rhinitis and chronic bronchitis/emphysema (CBE).Self-reported upper airway symptoms, asthma, and CBE were examined in 12,079 adults living in southern Sweden.The response rate was 70% (n=8,469), of whom 33% reported signi®cant nasal symptoms: a blocked nose was reported by 21%; sneezing by 18%; nasal discharge by 17%; and thick yellow nasal discharge by 5.7%. Nasal symptoms and combined nasal and self-reported bronchial disease were generally more common among smokers than nonsmokers. There was little overlap between asthma and CBE, but 46% of those with asthma and 40% of those with CBE had signi®cant nasal symptoms. Best predicting factors (odds ratios >3) for asthma and CBE were nasal symptoms due to exposure to animals and damp/cold air, respectively.One-third of an adult, southern Swedish population, had signi®cant allergic and/or nonallergic nasal symptoms. Nasal symptoms were frequently found to coexist with both asthma and chronic bronchitis/emphysema, suggesting that pan-airway engagement is common in both diseases. Differing associations between types of nasal symptoms and allergic and irritant triggers of nasal symptoms, with regard to asthma and chronic bronchitis/emphysema, emphasize the different natures of these bronchial diseases. Eur Respir J 2001; 17: 596±603.

Using a postal questionnaire the prevalence of hand eczema was determined in a general population of 11,798 individuals aged 20-77 years who were randomly drawn from the population records. The response rate was 78.1%. One-year prevalence of hand eczema among women varied between 1.9% and 10.8%, with the highest figure among those aged 30-39 years. The corresponding figures for men were 2.3% and 5.6%, with the highest figure among those aged 20-29 years. Lifetime prevalence varied between 5.7% and 16.7% among women and between 5.2% and 9.5% among men. Using multiple logistic regression analysis female sex (OR=1.91, 95% CI 1.47-2.47) and smoking (OR=1.35, 95% CI 1.04-1.75) were independent risk factors for reporting 1-year prevalence of hand eczema, whereas age (OR=0.99, 95% CI 0.97-0.99) was inversely related to the 1-year prevalence of hand eczema. Aggregated risk occupation or categorized occupation such as medical and nursing work, production or service were not significantly associated with 1-year prevalence of hand eczema.

Background: There is growing evidence that air pollution from traffic has adverse long-term effects on chronic respiratory disease in children, but there are few studies and more inconclusive results in adults. We examined associations between residential traffic and asthma and COPD in adults in southern Sweden. A postal questionnaire in 2000 (n = 9319, 18-77 years) provided disease status, and self-reported exposure to traffic. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to link geocoded residential addresses to a Swedish road database and an emission database for NOx.

The prevalence of obstructive lung diseases is increasing in Scandinavia and worldwide. The reasons for this are not known. The prevalence varies between countries but also between different areas within the same country. In northern Europe a north-south gradient and also an east-west gradient have been proposed. To our knowledge this is the first comprehensive epidemiological study concerning obstructive lung diseases and respiratory symptoms in the southern part of Sweden. The prevalence of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis/emphysema, respiratory symptoms, smoking habits and medication in a random sample of 12,071 adults aged 20-59 years was assessed in a postal survey with a slightly modified questionnaire previously used in central and northern Sweden (the OLIN Studies). The questionnaire was based on the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) questionnaire. We also compared the prevalence figures of asthma found in the postal survey with those reported in the medical records in a part of the study area. After two reminders, the response rate was 70.1% (n = 8469); 33.8% of the responders were smokers. Among younger (20-39 year age group) individuals, smoking was most common in women, whereas in those aged 40-59 years, smoking was more common in men. In all, 469 subjects (5.5%) stated that they had asthma, 41.6% of whom reported a family history of asthma compared to 15.9% of the study sample not reporting asthma. Of all subjects reporting asthma, 60.1% (n = 282) answered that they used asthma drugs. Inhaled steroids were used by 20.7%. Chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema was reported by 4.6% (n = 392), 28.6% of whom reported a family history of chronic bronchitis or emphysema compared to 6.8% of the study sample not reporting chronic bronchitis. The most common respiratory symptom in the study population was 'phlegm when coughing' reported by 15.1% (n = 1279). Our data show a prevalence of self-reported asthma of 5.5% compared with 7% reported by Lunbäck et al. in northern Sweden, which indicates a north-south gradient.