Coronary Obstructive Pulmonary Disease was pushed into the spotlight last week after a report warned of its true cost to the economy and called for the uptake of national strategies in the working age population to better tackle the illness.
Far from being a ‘disease of old men’ the report, compiled by Education for Health and other leading specialists, has found that actually far more people in the 45-60 age group suffer from COPD than previously thought.
This age group represents the core of the global workforce, but one in five 45-68 year olds with COPD – a debilitating, life-threatening and progressive lung disease that interferes with normal breathing – taking part in the survey had been forced to retire prematurely, and the productivity of others was severely affected.
The economic burden of the disease is estimated to be £1.5 billion a year in the UK alone, including direct healthcare costs and other factors such as lost income tax, payment of benefits and the loss of productivity, and the report warns that as retirement age creeps up the impact of COPD will continue to rise.
COPD
“It’s an economic time-bomb”, said Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive of Education for Health. “The key generation driving the economy in most countries are people aged 40–65 years and in this harsh economic climate, we need to ensure they stay active and productive,” she stressed, and added that with the growing incidence of COPD and more women affected than previously thought “it can only mean that personal and societal cost will also increase”.
COPD is thought to affect around 210 million people around the globe but only half have of these been diagnosed, and the report calls for policymakers and the healthcare community to instil strategies to achieve earlier disease diagnosis and management, key factors in better treatment outcomes.
The COPD drug market in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the USA was worth nearly $8.4 billion last year, according to a study by market analyst Decision Resources, but it forecasts that the ageing population means that the number of drug-treated patients will increase by nearly six million over the next decade, again demonstrating the dramatic rise of incidence.
Smoking, exposure to smoke, pollution or chemical fumes can all lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet despite it being the cause of more fatalities in the UK than breast, bowel or prostate cancer, patients appear not to fully understand how to deal with their condition.
COPD is term covering several conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema while symptoms may include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath. Less air flows in and out of the lungs because the airways have lost their elasticity and so don’t allow as much air through, or the walls between lung air sacs have broken down or are inflamed, or because there is too much mucus clogging the airways. When the body doesn’t receive enough oxygen via breathing, normal everyday functioning suffers. COPD patients may not be able to walk, cook or even bathe themselves.
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If you have a nagging cough that won’t go away and get breathless taking the stairs, you could be one of an estimated 3.5 million people in the UK who have COPD but don’t know it, a health charity has warned.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the umbrella term for the lung conditions, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is mostly caused by smoking or by exposure to environmental pollution and to hazards at work such as dust, fumes and gases.
COPD is the UK’s fifth biggest killer, and kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer each year.
However, research by the British Lung Foundation has shown that over 29 million people (61%) in the UK have never heard of the condition.
Previous research by the health charity suggests around 2.8 million people in the UK have the condition but don’t realise it.
But a survey of more than 1,000 people from across the UK suggests this figure may be as high as 3.5 million people. People taking part in the survey were ranked as being at low, high or medium risk of COPD depending on whether they had typical symptoms of the condition such breathlessness, regular cough, phlegm and wheeze.
The survey found that 22.8 per cent of people questioned were at a medium risk and 7.4 per cent were at a high risk of having COPD without knowing it.
The research, carried out to mark World COPD Day, also found that only four per cent of smokers thought their “smokers cough”, or breathlessness was caused by COPD.
Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “This research suggests the possibility of up to 3.5 million people in the UK living with COPD and not even knowing it.
“This is 700,000 more people than previous research has shown which is really alarming.
“This is why early diagnosis is so essential to slow the progression of COPD to ensure that those with the disease can manage their condition properly and live with COPD rather than suffering in silence with an invisible disease.
“This is why the BLF is encouraging those with symptoms such as a persistent cough with phlegm, breathlessness or a wheezy chest to take the BLF’s online breath test or to visit their GP for a lung function test.”