The Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD): New Insights for Primary Care Application
Jean Bourbeau 1, Wan Tan 2, Helene Perrault 3, Research Network and the CanCOLD Collaborative Research group
1 Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 2 Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; 3 Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
*Correspondence: Helene Perrault, Email not available
Abstract
The Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung disease (CanCOLD) study was launched ten years ago, to provide insight on the natural course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This project, unique on the world scene for its longitudinal evaluation, is based on random sampling of the population as opposed to more traditional cohorts built on convenience samples of clinical patients.
This comprehensive review article has elected to extract and collate from the set of Can- COLD substudies those findings and emerging discoveries that can serve to influence clinical practice, in particular, for primary care. We are presenting findings grouped around three aspects: prevalence of COPD, diagnostic performance, and impacts of COPD.
Furthermore, the main results of these studies are supplemented by key messages.
From CanCOLD publications we have already learned much, with sufficient substantive data to warrant translation into our clinical practice, guidelines and health policies for the benefit of our COPD patients.
