Kentucky had the highest prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults, 9.3%, in 2011, according to a study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The data for the first-ever report of state-specific prevalence of COPD among adults in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Among the 498,225 respondents to the survey, 39,038 reported that they had been told by a physician that they had COPD, for an overall prevalence of 6.3% (age-adjusted to 6%).
At 3.1%, Puerto Rico had the lowest COPD prevalence in the United States in 2011. The states with the lowest prevalence were Minnesota and Washington, both at 3.9%, according to the report.