COPD World facts
World Key facts
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.23 million deaths in 2019.
Over 80% of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
COPD causes persistent and progressive respiratory symptoms, including difficulty in breathing, cough and/or phlegm production.
COPD results from long-term exposure to harmful gases and particles combined with individual factors, including events which influence lung growth in childhood and genetics.
Environmental exposure to tobacco smoke, indoor air pollution, and occupational dusts, fumes, and chemicals are important risk factors for COPD.
Early diagnosis and treatment, including smoking cessation support, is needed to slow the progression of symptoms and reduce flare-ups.
The impact of COPD on daily life
Common symptoms of COPD develop from mid-life onwards, including:
- breathlessness or
- difficulty breathing,
- chronic cough, often with phlegm,
- tiredness.
As COPD progresses, people find it more difficult to carry out their normal daily activities, often due to breathlessness. There may be a considerable financial burden due to limitation of workplace and home productivity, and costs of medical treatment.
During flare-ups, people with COPD find their symptoms become much worse – they may need to receive extra treatment at home or be admitted to hospital for emergency care. Severe flare-ups can be life-threatening.
People with COPD often have other medical conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, musculoskeletal disorders, lung cancer, depression and anxiety.
Reducing the burden of COPD
There is no cure for COPD but early diagnosis and treatment are important to slow the progression of symptoms and reduce the risk of flare-ups.
COPD should be suspected if a person has typical symptoms, and the diagnosis confirmed by a breathing test called spirometry, which measures how the lungs are working. In low- and middle-income countries, spirometry is often not available and so the diagnosis may be missed.
There are several actions that people with COPD can take to improve their overall health and help control their COPD:
stop smoking: people with COPD should be offered support to quit smoking;
take regular exercise; and
get vaccinated against pneumonia, influenza and coronavirus.
Inhaled medication can be used to improve symptoms and reduce flare-ups. There are different types of inhaled medication which work in different ways and can be given in combination inhalers, if available.
Some inhalers open the airways – they may be given regularly to prevent or reduce symptoms, and to relieve symptoms during acute flare-ups. Inhaled corticosteroids are sometimes given in combination with these to reduce inflammation in the lungs.
Inhalers must be taken using the correct technique, and in some cases with a spacer device to help deliver the medication into the airways more effectively. Access to inhalers is limited in many low- and middle-income countries – in 2019 salbutamol inhalers were generally available in primary care public health facilities in approximately half of low-income countries.
Flare-ups are often caused by a respiratory infection – people may be given an antibiotic or steroid tablets in addition to inhaled or nebulised treatment as needed.
People living with COPD must be given information about their condition, treatment and self-care to help them to stay as active and healthy as possible.
Chronic lower respiratory disease, primarily COPD, was the fourth leading cause of death in the United States in 2018. Almost 15.7 million Americans (6.4%) reported that they have been diagnosed with COPD. More than 50% of adults with low pulmonary function were not aware that they had COPD, so the actual number may be higher. The following groups were more likely to report COPD in 2013.
- Women.
- People aged 65 to 74 years and ≥75 years.
- American Indians/Alaska Natives and multiracial non-Hispanics.
- People who were unemployed, retired, or unable to work.
- People with less than a high school education.
- People who were divorced, widowed, or separated.
- Current or former smokers.
- People with a history of asthma.
COPD Among Women
In the past, COPD was often thought of as a man’s disease, but things have changed in the past couple of decades. Since 2000, more women than men have died from COPD in the United States. In 2018, chronic lower respiratory disease, primarily COPD, was the fourth leading cause of death among US women. The age-adjusted death rates for COPD have dropped among US men, but death rates have not changed for women. More women than men are also living with COPD in the United States.
There are several reasons why COPD might affect women differently than men.6 Women tend to be diagnosed later than men, when the disease is more advanced and treatment is less effective. Women also seem to be more vulnerable to the effects of tobacco and other harmful substances, such as indoor air pollution. For example, tobacco smoke is the main cause of COPD in the United States, but women who smoke tend to get COPD at younger ages and with lower levels of smoking than men who smoke. There also appear to be differences in how women and men respond to different treatments.
