RESPONSE TO A RESPIRATORY SURVEY

  • 1 January 1963
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 88  (12) , 596-+
Abstract
Respondents to a respiratory survey of Berlin, New Hampshire, residents in 1961 have been studied to assess the relationship between cooperation and respiratory disease prevalence. Two hundred and forty-three uncooperative subjects, interviewed at home, had significantly more morning phlegm and a lower vital capacity than carefully matched subjects who attended the central clinic. Fifty-one volunteers had the same prevalence of respiratory disease symptoms and physiological abnormalities as carefully matched subjects drawn from a probability sample of the city. It is concluded that respiratory disease prevalence will be underestimated if calculated from studies of cooperative subjects who attend a clinic. Case-finding by respiratory disease screening clinics will also miss many persons who suffer from chronic bronchitis.