OBJECTIVETo study the diagnostic criteria of severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), early intervention, and the effect of health education on the relationship between smoking and health.

METHODSData from 713 remissive COPD patients who had results of pulmonary function test in the past 10 years were reviewed. All patients were classified by correlative diagnostic criteria, and the results were compared with the diagnostic criteria of WHO Global Initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD). Other indexes such as history of smoking, quantity of smoking and the rate of giving up smoking were also analyzed.

RESULTSAccording to the diagnostic criteria set by the Chinese Respiratory College in 1997 and traditional pulmonary function criteria, 339 patients were identified as having severe COPD, taking up 56.0% of all COPD patients; 200 patients were moderate (28.0%); 114 patients were mild (16.0%). FEV(1)/FVC in mild COPD patients was 70.5% +/- 1.1%, higher than the criteria of 70% in GOLD. Three hundred and thirty-five patients were smokers, taking up 46.9% of total patients. In these patients, 312 patients were men (93%) and 23 patients were women (7%). The average smoking history was 32.9 years, and the average quantity of daily smoking was 22. Two hundred sixteen patients had given up smoking which took up 64.5% of all the smokers.

CONCLUSIONSIt was debatable that FEV(1)/FVC was decisive criteria for COPD diagnoses by GOLD and the revised diagnostic criteria of Chinese Respiratory College in 2002. It might miss diagnosing a number of COPD patients who having combined ventilatory disturbance or were in earlier stages. Only 15.9% of mild COPD patients had seen a doctor, that indicated a very low rate of early intervention which was disadvantageous for the prevention and cure of COPD. In contrast to the rate of 28.0% when giving up smoking in ordinary people who had received general intervention, the rate of giving up smoking in COPD patients remained 64.5% much higher and was dissatisfactory. Health education should be improved to include measures to give up smoking.