Prevalence of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency in COPD Patients in Argentina. The DAAT.AR Study.

Abstract Introduction Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is still underdiagnosed, despite the recommendation to determine AAT in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objective To estimate the prevalence of AATD in COPD patients adjusted according to the population of the COPD prevalence study in Argentina (EPOC.AR). Material and methods This was a multicenter prospective cross-sectional study of a population aged ≥ 30 years of age diagnosed with COPD, involving AAT quantification in dry blood spot and subsequent genotyping in subjects with  Results We included 3254 patients (544 with AAT  Conclusions The prevalence of AATD in the adult population with COPD in Argentina is estimated to be 0.83%, which could represent 17,000 cases in our country.