CLINICAL REVIEW The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease Initiative (BOLD): Rationale and Design

Quantifying COPD prevalence worldwide is needed to document COPD’s effect on disability, health care costs, and impaired quality of life and to inform governments and health planners. As an adjunct to data obtained from population-based studies, and for countries where a fully powered prevalence survey cannot be done, modeling of COPD prevalence and its economic burdens can help estimate potential health care needs and costs. For comparability, standardized methods for prevalence surveys are needed that can be used in countries at all levels of economic development. The Burden of Obstructive Lung Diseas