Sintomas respiratórios em pacientes atendidos em uma unidade básica de saúde de Goiânia-GO

Objective: to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in subjects attending a primary healthcare unit, describing the distributions of these symptoms and of risk factors for respiratory disease. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted on subjects attending an outpatient primary health care unit in Goiania-GO. During one year, forty-four random observations categorized by season were made. Chi-square test, analysis of variance, correlation and univariate robust regression were used to perform the statistical analyses. Results: among the 3,354 subjects enrolled, 13.7% (458/3,354) had respiratory symptoms. Cough was the most prevalent symptom, occurring in 91% (417/458) of the cases. Among all subjects, 4.8% (161/3354) had cough for more than two weeks. The proportion of respiratory symptoms (cough, dyspnea and wheezing) did not differ significantly across seasons and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in winter, autumn, summer and spring were, respectively, 20%, 14%, 11.9% and 7.4%. The average duration of cough in the elderly was significantly longer than in the other age groups (p=0,004). Smokers, former smokers, low weight subjects and subjects reporting previous pneumonia, asthma or COPD also showed longer average duration of cough, but these differences were not statistically significant. The regression model showed that the duration of cough increased with age (r2=0,08; p=0,0001). Conclusion: subjects with respiratory diseases account for a significant proportion of the demand for healthcare. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms is higher during the winter and the average duration of cough increases with age.