Feature stories
COPD is the 4th leading cause of death, yet few Canadians know what it is
All British Columbians who smoke, or have smoked in the past, and are 40 years of age and older, should be screened for COPD.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term referring to two lung conditions, chronic bronchitis and chronic emphysema, that are characterized by obstruction to the airway that interferes with normal breathing. Both of these conditions frequently co-exist. It does not include other obstructive dieseases such as asthma. The disease is primarily caused by smoking (80 - 90% of cases), but can also be caused by exposure to fumes or irritants.
COPD is currently the 4th leading cause of death in Canada yet fewer than half of Canadians have heard of the disease. SInce 2000, female mortality due to COPD has risen at double the rate of breast cancer. Total deaths from COPD are projected to increase by more than 30% in the next 10 years, unless risk factors, most especially exposure to tobacco smoke, are curbed dramatically. There is no cure for the disease, but it can be successfully treated, especially when detected early.
Quick facts
- COPD affects 4.8% of women, and 3.9% of men. As of 2005, there were 750,000 people diagnosed with COPD in Canada, 73,00 of whom live in BC.
- Only one in 10 Canadians are aware of the test for COPD, called spirometry, which may be why most people with COPD are not diagnosed until the disease is well advanced.
- Spirometry is a simple breathing test that calculates the amount of air the patient's lungs can hold, and the rate at which the air can be expelled.
- British Columbians who smoke, or have smoked in the past and are 40 years of age and older, should be screened regularly for COPD.
- People with COPD usually have a combination of the following symptoms: coughing with or without sputum, shortness of breath, weight loss and loss of appetite (in severe cases). People might think that shortness of breath is a normal sign of aging - but it's not.
- While mammography, pap tests and bone density testing have become routine screening for other diseases, regular screening (a simple breathing test) for chronic lung disease is unacceptably low.