COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is an umbrella term for conditions that obstruct airflow and cause breathing problems. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Many people don’t notice COPD symptoms at first and “brush them off” as symptoms of aging or just being out of shape. For this reason, many people call COPD “the silent killer.”
Currently, a cure for COPD doesn’t exist. However, the right treatment and lifestyle changes can improve symptoms and slow its progression.
Check out these surprising facts about COPD:
- COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide.
- Many people don’t know about COPD.
- Not all cases of COPD were caused by smoking.
- Quitting smoking is still essential.
- Quitting improves your lung function.
- It improves your body’s ability to fight the disease.
- It reduces your symptoms.
- It lessens the amount of COPD exacerbations (flare-ups).
- It slows down the progression of lung damage.
- Millions of people don’t know they have COPD.
- COPD has severe economic costs.
- COPD differs for everyone.
- COPD is one of the most preventable diseases.
- More women have COPD than men.
- People with COPD can still live long, healthy lives.
According to the World Health Organization, COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide, affecting about 15 million people in the U.S. and over 65 million around the world. COPD ranks third, just behind ischemic heart disease and stroke.
Although it affects numerous people, many remain unaware of COPD and its risk factors. One study showed that only 38% of people with COPD knew about the disease and risk factors before their diagnosis. Also, two-thirds of people wish they knew more about it and how to slow down the disease’s progression.
Although smoking causes most cases of COPD (around 85-90%), up to 15% of people with the disease never smoked. Other causes of COPD include long-term exposure to air pollutants, second-hand smoke, and work-related chemicals or fumes. In rare cases, genetics cause a type of COPD known as alpha-1 deficiency-related emphysema.
After being diagnosed with COPD, some people think, “I already did the damage, so why quit now?” But quitting smoking is still crucial to your health. Although you can’t reverse COPD lung damage, you can still prevent further damage when you quit smoking.
Here are reasons to quit smoking, even with COPD.
An estimated 12 million people in the United States live with COPD but don’t know they have it. Many people weren’t diagnosed until after being hospitalized with COPD exacerbation. One study of 30,874 people throughout 44 countries showed an underdiagnosis rate of over 81%.
COPD, particularly hospitalizations and medications, is a costly disease. COPD costs the United States about $49.9 billion per year. Individual costs, including treatment and therapy, can also become expensive, especially with poorly managed COPD. Emergency room visits alone are costly. In 2019, there were nearly 1,320,000 COPD-related emergency department visits in the U.S. For many, COPD also leads to job absenteeism and early retirement for many people.
COPD includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Although these two lung diseases cause similar symptoms, like shortness of breath, fatigue, and cough, they differ from each other by their risk factors, prognosis, and where lung damage occurs.
Chronic bronchitis occurs over time, inflaming and scarring the bronchi, the large airway leading from the windpipe (trachea) to the lungs. Emphysema damages the alveoli, the tiny air sacs where oxygen becomes exchanged for carbon dioxide.
Although a small percentage of COPD is genetic (only about 1-2%) or caused by environmental toxins, smoking causes up to 90% of COPD cases. This means that up to 90% of COPD cases could be prevented by not smoking.
Several decades ago, more men had COPD than women. But in the 1920s, cigarette companies began marketing smoking to women, leading them to believe smoking was glamorous. The number of women smokers quickly increased. And although the number of smokers has declined in the last couple of decades, more women than men now have COPD.
Making lifestyle changes can help you live a long, healthy life, with or without COPD. Quitting smoking is a must. Also, avoid other pollutants that could irritate your lungs, like second-hand smoke.
In addition, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a nutrient-rich diet, and exercising, can help to improve COPD symptoms, improve your lung function, help with feelings of depression, and make you feel better overall.
Related Information
Updated: March 13, 2023
Published: August 5, 2015
The information on this page is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For more information about COPD, talk to your doctor or primary care provider.
Sources:
- https://www.cdc.gov/copd/index.html
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150730080803.htm
- https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/what-causes-copd
- http://www.emphysemafoundation.org/index.php/healthy-habits/quitting-smoking/92-quitting-smoking-articles/149-the-benefits-of-quitting-smoking
- https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201804-0621CI
- https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(15)50286-9/fulltext
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death
- https://www.lung.org/research/trends-in-lung-disease/copd-trends-brief/copd-burden
- https://healtheconomicsreview.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13561-021-00329-9
- https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/chronic-bronchitis
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3399759/
- http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/factsheets/smoking.htm
- https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm
Kristina Diaz, RRT, is a health writer and registered respiratory therapist with over a decade of emergency and critical care experience. She earned respiratory care and journalism degrees in Michigan, where she was born and raised. She now resides in Florida, where she works as a full-time freelance writer and part-time respiratory therapist.
Kristina began her respiratory career in 2011 in Saginaw, Michigan. She now works in Lakeland, Florida, in one of the busiest emergency departments in the nation, treating people with various lung conditions, like COPD, asthma, and sleep apnea, among others. She maintains her Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification and is a member of the trauma team at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. Her favorite part of being a respiratory therapist is providing relief to people struggling to breathe.
Kristina began freelance health writing in 2014, and her work is published on multiple websites, including Philips Respironics, the American Sleep Association, the Sleep Doctor, and more. She writes about lung health, sleep disorders, nutrition, and other health-related topics. Since she was a child, she’s always wanted to write, and now she gets to combine her passion for writing with the knowledge obtained from her respiratory career.
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Kristina Diaz, RRThttps://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/blog/author/kristina-diaz/
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Kristina Diaz, RRThttps://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/blog/author/kristina-diaz/
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Kristina Diaz, RRThttps://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/blog/author/kristina-diaz/
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Kristina Diaz, RRThttps://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/blog/author/kristina-diaz/
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