COPD One in four suffers from lung disease

According to a meta-study, one in four suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during their lifetime

10/09/2011

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD is far more prevalent than previously thought. According to a study by Canadian researchers, one in four people today suffer from incurable lung disease during their lifetime. The damage to the lungs is often irreversible and progressive.

One in four people will develop non-reversible chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during their lifetime. This is the result of a long-term study by Canadian scientists at the University Hospital in Toronto. The serious illness is caused mainly by cigarette habit and environmental pollutants. In a risk analysis, the physicians found out that the risk of disease outweighs 3 times that of a heart attack. Thus, the risk is about as synonymous with asthma and diabetes.

Every fourth person dies of COPD
According to estimates by the World Health Organization, COPD, which is mostly caused by smoking, is the fourth leading cause of death in the world. What many as „smoke lung“ Describing a smoker's cough, today is considered one of the most serious diseases ever. Almost 22 percent of people over the age of 40 are chronically ill in the lungs, according to WHO estimates. By 2030, COPD may become the third leading cause of death after stroke and heart attack. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is already present among the most frequent hospital admissions. „That means a significant burden on the health system“, As a WHO spokesperson emphasized.

The main reason for the severe lung disease is smoking. In 90 percent of cases, the much-minimized smoker's cough has turned into a chronic persistent cough. „Although COPD is fatal, therapeutically very expensive, and often on top of that, there have been no reliable figures on how high the disease risk is in the general population, "the research team wrote in the study report.

Higher risk than breast cancer or prostate cancer
To assess the risk, the lung specialists evaluated the patient data of 13 million people in the Canadian province of Ontario. Over a 14-year period, they determined how many times people had COPD. Only the health data of the under-80s were considered, since the average life expectancy in Canada is around 80 years of age. An obvious finding in the analysis was that a middle-aged woman (35 years old) is about three times more likely to develop COPD than breast cancer, according to study author Andrea Gershon of the University of Toronto. For men, the risk estimate for COPD is about three times that for prostate cancer. Other influencing factors included income, social status and city life. Thus, those who have a low income and live in the city are more likely to be affected by severe lung disease than others with higher incomes and rural life.

Of the 13 million people studied, 580,000 fell ill with chronic lung disease over the estimated period. The diagnosis of COPD has been made over the fourteen years in nearly 30 percent of men and in women in 25 percent of subjects. „The older the subjects, the higher the COPD risk“ is one of the main statements. Around 35,000 men and women fell ill with the 35 to 49 year olds. In the 70-79 age group, COPD was diagnosed in over 180,000 people. The experts calculated a total COPD risk for all people of over 27 percent. According to this, every fourth person suffers from COPD in the course of his life.

Hardly any background knowledge in the population
Although the results speak a clear language, „The general public still seems to know very little about COPD and its health significance. "One goal of the study was to wake people up to raise awareness about the dangers of COPD „pay more attention“, with it one „better financial support for the treatment and care of patients and also for research“ comes about, the researchers hope.

First warning symptoms of chronic lung disease
COPD is characterized by a morning cough, persistent smoker's cough and respiratory distress. If the person concerned does not immediately stop smoking and can not be treated by a pulmonologist immediately, the progress can no longer be reversed. Thus, not reparable inflammations and changes of the alveoli, which leads to an oxygen deficiency of the organism. The affected person already experiences slight states of exhaustion, coughing with expectoration, shortness of breath and sweating.

Different stages of COPD
It should be noted that COPD is internationally validated in different degrees of severity. In severity grade I, the typical cough with sputum already exists. Since the impairment of the lungs are not yet massive, they notice no restrictions except for the often occurring cough. In the middle grade II level, most people experience physical discomfort as well as coughing. In Stage III, the patients suffer from the above symptoms, but to a far greater extent. In the last stage, chronic respiratory failure occurs, with one-second exhalation capacity reduced by more than 50 percent. Patients then struggle with a worsening of the course of the disease. At this stage, there is an acute mortal danger to the patient. The best precaution is the immediate quit smoking and balancing sport. (Sb)

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