Exertional breathlessness related to medical conditions in middle-aged people: the population-based SCAPIS study of more than 25,000 men and women

Breathlessness is common in the population and can be related to a range of medical conditions. We aimed to evaluate the burden of breathlessness related to different medical conditions in a middle-aged population. Cross-sectional analysis of the population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study of adults aged 50–64 years. Breathlessness (modified Medical Research Council [mMRC] ≥ 2) was evaluated in relation to self-reported symptoms, stress, depression; physician-diagnosed conditions; measured body mass index (BMI), spirometry, venous haemoglobin concentration, coronary artery calcification and stenosis [computer tomography (CT) angiography], and pulmonary emphysema (high-resolution CT). For each condition, the prevalence and breathlessness population attributable fraction (PAF) were calculated, overall and by sex, smoking history, and presence/absence of self-reported cardiorespiratory disease. We included 25,948 people aged 57.5 ± [SD] 4.4; 51