TY - JOUR
T1 - High prevalence of interstitial lung abnormalities in middle-aged never-smokers
AU - Pesonen, Ida
AU - Johansson, Fredrik
AU - Johnsson, Åse
AU - Blomberg, Anders
AU - Boijsen, Marianne
AU - Brandberg, John
AU - Cederlund, Kerstin
AU - Egesten, Arne
AU - Emilsson, Össur Ingi
AU - Engvall, Jan E.
AU - Frølich, Andreas
AU - Hagström, Emil
AU - Lindberg, Eva
AU - Malinovschi, Andrei
AU - Stenfors, Nikolai
AU - Swahn, Eva
AU - Tanash, Hanan
AU - Themudo, Raquel
AU - Torén, Kjell
AU - Vanfleteren, Lowie E.G.W.
AU - Wollmer, Per
AU - Zaigham, Suneela
AU - Östgren, Carl Johan
AU - Sköld, C. Magnus
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - Background Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are incidental findings on chest computed tomography (CT). These patterns can present at an early stage of fibrotic lung disease. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of ILA in the Swedish population, in particular in never-smokers, and find out its association with demographics, comorbidities and symptoms. Methods Participants were recruited to the Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS), a population-based survey including men and women aged 50–64 years performed at six university hospitals in Sweden. CT scan, spirometry and questionnaires were performed. ILA were defined as cysts, ground-glass opacities, reticular abnormality, bronchiectasis and honeycombing. Findings Out of 29 521 participants, 14 487 were never-smokers and 14 380 were men. In the whole population, 2870 (9.7%) had ILA of which 134 (0.5%) were fibrotic. In never-smokers, the prevalence was 7.9% of which 0.3% were fibrotic. In the whole population, age, smoking history, chronic bronchitis, cancer, coronary artery calcium score and high-sensitive C-reactive protein were associated with ILA. Both ILA and fibrotic ILA were associated with restrictive spirometric pattern and impaired diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide. However, individuals with ILA did not report more symptoms compared with individuals without ILA. Interpretation ILA are common in a middle-aged Swedish population including never-smokers. ILA may be at risk of being underdiagnosed among never-smokers since they are not a target for screening.
AB - Background Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are incidental findings on chest computed tomography (CT). These patterns can present at an early stage of fibrotic lung disease. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of ILA in the Swedish population, in particular in never-smokers, and find out its association with demographics, comorbidities and symptoms. Methods Participants were recruited to the Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS), a population-based survey including men and women aged 50–64 years performed at six university hospitals in Sweden. CT scan, spirometry and questionnaires were performed. ILA were defined as cysts, ground-glass opacities, reticular abnormality, bronchiectasis and honeycombing. Findings Out of 29 521 participants, 14 487 were never-smokers and 14 380 were men. In the whole population, 2870 (9.7%) had ILA of which 134 (0.5%) were fibrotic. In never-smokers, the prevalence was 7.9% of which 0.3% were fibrotic. In the whole population, age, smoking history, chronic bronchitis, cancer, coronary artery calcium score and high-sensitive C-reactive protein were associated with ILA. Both ILA and fibrotic ILA were associated with restrictive spirometric pattern and impaired diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide. However, individuals with ILA did not report more symptoms compared with individuals without ILA. Interpretation ILA are common in a middle-aged Swedish population including never-smokers. ILA may be at risk of being underdiagnosed among never-smokers since they are not a target for screening.
U2 - 10.1183/23120541.00035-2023
DO - 10.1183/23120541.00035-2023
M3 - Article
C2 - 37753274
AN - SCOPUS:85172772775
SN - 2312-0541
VL - 9
JO - ERJ open research
JF - ERJ open research
IS - 5
M1 - 00035-2023
ER -