Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Radiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Region Västra Götaland, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Radiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Respiratory Medicine, Allergology and Palliative Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland; Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory, Allergy and Sleep Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
CMIV, Centre of Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Clinical Physiology, Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Section of Medicine.
Department of Medical Sciences, Cardiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Uppsala Clinical Research Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory, Allergy and Sleep Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Medical Sciences, Clinical Physiology, Uppsala University, Sweden.
Department of Cardiology and Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology at Karolinska Institute, Division of Medical Imaging and Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Radiology, Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
Section of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
COPD Center, Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Department of Medical Sciences, Clinical Physiology, Uppsala University, Sweden; Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
CMIV, Centre of Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Respiratory Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine Solna and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are incidental findings on chest computed tomography (CT). These patterns can present at an early stage of fibrotic lung disease. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of ILA in the Swedish population, in particular in never-smokers, and find out its association with demographics, comorbidities and symptoms.
Methods: Participants were recruited to the Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS), a population-based survey including men and women aged 50–64 years performed at six university hospitals in Sweden. CT scan, spirometry and questionnaires were performed. ILA were defined as cysts, ground-glass opacities, reticular abnormality, bronchiectasis and honeycombing.
Findings: Out of 29 521 participants, 14 487 were never-smokers and 14 380 were men. In the whole population, 2870 (9.7%) had ILA of which 134 (0.5%) were fibrotic. In never-smokers, the prevalence was 7.9% of which 0.3% were fibrotic. In the whole population, age, smoking history, chronic bronchitis, cancer, coronary artery calcium score and high-sensitive C-reactive protein were associated with ILA. Both ILA and fibrotic ILA were associated with restrictive spirometric pattern and impaired diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide. However, individuals with ILA did not report more symptoms compared with individuals without ILA.
Interpretation: ILA are common in a middle-aged Swedish population including never-smokers. ILA may be at risk of being underdiagnosed among never-smokers since they are not a target for screening.
European Respiratory Society , 2023. Vol. 9, no 5, article id 00035-2023