ABSTRACT
Respiratory disease has a substantial impact on the health of the population at all ages and at every level of morbidity. Acute upper respiratory infections affect everyone during their lifetime, lead to substantial amount of loss of work time and school time, and are a common cause of visits to general practitioners. Furthermore, chronic lower respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are main contributors to sickness absence, premature retirement, increased use of hospital resources, disability, and mortality (1-5).
