Risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases in middle age: 36-year follow-up of the Tasmanian Asthma Study

该项目将提高我们对成人慢性呼吸道疾病(CRD)病因的了解。CRDS显然是一个主要的公共卫生问题，但没有关于这些疾病的自然历史和风险因素的良好数据。从童年到成年的定期跟踪调查是检查这些因素的最佳方法，但由于进行长期研究存在困难，因此缺乏此类数据。塔斯马尼亚哮喘研究(TAS)以1961年出生的8585名塔斯马尼亚人(即先证者)为基础，是世界上最重要的此类信息来源之一。这些先证者及其父母(16,267人)和兄弟姐妹(21,044人)于1968年首次接受呼吸道疾病调查。随后，在13岁(1974年)、20岁(1981年)和31岁(1992年)对先证者的总样本或分样本进行了三次后续调查。1992年，先证者的子女和配偶也接受了调查。在所有后续行动中都收集了有关所有呼吸道问题的信息，尽管TAS迄今的主要重点一直是哮喘。先证者现在已经到了所有CRD作为一个群体开始造成越来越大的疾病负担的年龄，在接下来的20年里，这种负担将变得更大。因此，TAS现在提供了一个理想的机会，利用迄今收集的数据和43岁时收集的新数据来检查CRD的潜在风险因素和自然病史。此外，它还将为未来的研究提供一个平台，以调查这一队列中CRD的进展。因此，我们建议对这一队列进行36年的随访，重点放在CRD上。这将为今后预防慢性呼吸道疾病和残疾提供重要信息，这不仅在澳大利亚，而且在国际上都具有原创性和重大意义。

This project will improve our understanding of the causes of chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) in adults. CRDs are clearly a major public health problem, but there are no good data on the natural history and risk factors for these diseases. Regular follow-up through childhood to adulthood is the best method to examine these factors, but such data is lacking due to difficulties in conducting long-term studies. The Tasmanian Asthma Study (TAS), based on 8,585 Tasmanians (i.e. probands) born in 1961, is one of the worlds most important resources of such information. The probands, their parents (16,267) and siblings (21,044) were first investigated for respiratory problems in 1968. Subsequently, three follow-up surveys were carried out at ages 13 (1974), 20 (1981) and 31 (1992) on either the total or sub-samples of the probands. In 1992, the children and spouses of the probands were also surveyed. Information on all respiratory problems was collected in all the follow-ups, although the main focus of the TAS to date has been asthma. The probands are now reaching the age at which all CRD as a group are beginning to inflict an increasing disease burden, which will become greater in the next two decades. Hence, TAS now provides an ideal opportunity to examine the potential risk factors and natural history of and of CRDs using data collected to date and new data collected at age 43. Also, it will provide a platform for future studies to investigate the progression of CRDs in this cohort. Hence, we propose to carry out the 36 year follow-up of this cohort focusing on CRDs. This will provide important information for preventing chronic respiratory morbidity and disability in the future, which will be original and significant not only in Australia but also internationally.