How common are respiratory symptoms in middle-aged and older people?
We conducted a two-stage, cross-sectional epidemiological study in 2000–01, using similar methods to the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS), but focusing on an older age group.4,5 The subjects were 7005 adults aged between 45 and 69 years. The sample was randomly selected by computer from the electoral rolls for three inner south-eastern Melbourne electorates. A postal survey was conducted using the validated ECRHS respiratory screening questionnaire, including additional items on cough, sputum and shortness of breath, emphysema and heart disease. Completed surveys were mailed back by 4276 (61.0%) participants. The survey was completed by telephone with 565 (8.1%) participants. A final response rate of 70.0% was achieved after adjusting for those no longer resident in the study area, outside the target age range, overseas, interstate or deceased. Among the 4906 respondents, there was a slight female preponderance (53.5% women). The median (range) age was 57 (45–69) ye
