Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- COPD is an umbrella term for a group of lung diseases that include chronic bronchitis, emphysema and small airways disease. Lung damage over a long period of time impairs the flow of air in and out of the lungs and causes breathlessness
- COPD is the 5th biggest killer in the UK[i] and the 5th biggest killer worldwide[ii]. Every hour COPD is estimated to kill over 250 people worldwide[iii]
- COPD is the only major cause of death whose incidence is on the increase[iv] and is expected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020 (exceeded only by heart disease and stroke)[v],[vi],[vii],[viii],[ix]
- There are an estimated 3 million people with COPD in the UK[x], although only an estimated 900,000 (1.5% of the population) are correctly diagnosed[xi]
- 24,160 people in the UK died as a result of COPD in 2005[xii]. The disease kills more people every year in the UK than bowel cancer, breast cancer or prostate cancer[xiii]
- COPD is the third biggest cause of respiratory death in the UK, accounting for more than one fifth (23%) of all respiratory deaths[xiv]
- In 2005 COPD killed more women than breast cancer: 11,302 died of COPD, 10,969 died of breast cancer[xv]
- In the UK, the rate of COPD has been increasing nearly three times faster amongst women than men[xvi]
- Women are more susceptible to developing COPD than men – their lung function worsens with less duration of smoking or intensity of smoking than that of men[xvii]
- COPD is caused mainly by smoking, but also by exposure to airborne pollution, to harmful fumes or particles at home or at work, or by inheriting a genetic deficiency. Some research suggests that COPD may be related to childhood lung disease
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a very common virus that usually only causes mild cold-like symptoms
- RSV is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children. Most of these RSV infections cause minor upper respiratory illness. However, in certain high-risk paediatric patients, RSV infection may cause serious lower respiratory tract disease
- RSV causes inflammation and obstruction of the lung’s tiniest airways (the bronchioles) and is the most common reason for an infant to be admitted to hospital with a lung infection in Europe
- 20,000 babies are admitted to hospital in England and Wales every year between November and March because of RSV chest infections[xviii]
[i] National Statistics (2006) Health Statistics Quarterly 30 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/HSQ30.pdf
[ii] A Practice Nurse Supplement: Nov 2003
[iii] WHO. The World Health Report 2002. Reducing risks, promoting healthy life. MDI.WHR.202.A, The World Health Organization,
Geneva, 2002
[iv] Murray CJL, Lopez AD. Alternative projections of mortality and disability by cause 1990-2020: Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet 1997; 349 1498-504
[v] European Respiratory Society (2003) European White Lung Book
[vi] Murray CJ & Lopez AD. Alternative projections of mortality and disability by cause 1990–2020: Global Burden of Disease Study.
Lancet 1997; 349:1498–1504
[vii] Murray CJL & Lopez AD. The global burden of disease: a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases,
injuries and risk factors in 1990, and projected to 2020. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1996. P361
[viii] Mannino, DM. et al. The natural history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Eur Respir J, 2006. 27(3): p. 627-43
[ix] Lopez AD. et al. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: current burden and future projections. Eur Respir J, 2006. 27 (2): p.
188-207
[x] Stang P, Lydick E, Silberman C et al. The Prevalence of COPD: Using smoking rates to estimate disease frequency in the general population. Chest 2000; 117: 354S-359S
[xi] Lung Report III (2003), British Lung Foundation
[xii] Burden of Lung Disease 2nd Edition, British Thoracic Society 2006
[xiii] Cancer Research UK: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/mortality/ and Burden of Lung Disease 2nd Edition, British Thoracic Society 2006
[xiv] Burden of Lung Disease 2nd Edition, British Thoracic Society 2006
[xv] National Statistics (2006) Death registrations in England and Wales: 2005, causes; taken from Health Statistics Quarterly 30 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/HSQ30.pdf
[xvi] Breathing Fear – The COPD Effect, Allen & Hanburys 2003
[xvii] British Lung Foundation (2005) – Femme Fatality: The rise and rise of COPD in women
[xviii] Lung Report III (2003), British Lung Foundation
