LAHORE: Senior medics say that more than 210 million people worldwide are suffering from the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with Pakistan sharing the burden of 6.9 million people.

Talking to the media on World COPD Day on Wednesday, Pakistan Chest Society President and Head of Pulmonology at Services Hospital Dr Kamran Cheema stressed the need to realise the deadly effects of COPD as it will become the leading cause of death in the future ahead of diabetes and depression. He said the worst part was there was a very superficial awareness about this disease and not much attention was paid to fighting it.

He said the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) defines COPD as a common preventable disease characterised by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and lungs to noxious particles and gases.

Senior medics warn against ignoring symptoms

“We have to realise that COPD is a major threat. Being a chronic disease, once a man falls prey to it, there is no point of return. If not controlled, it progresses with time,” Dr Cheema said.

He said the difficulty in breathing would restrict a patient from performing any stern job. Talking about the signs and symptoms of COPD, he said shortness of breath, persistent cough, coughing up mucus, wheezing, fatigue/tiredness, weight loss, morning headaches are alarming signs of the disease. It is more prevalent in men than women, and increases with age, primarily affecting people 40 years and above.

He added that symptoms developed slowly and were ignored by most patients as ‘old age’ or ‘smoker cough’, which is a dangerous attitude of patients and by the time it is realised, they lose a significant amount of lung function.

Assistant professor at Pulmonology Department of Services Hospital, Dr Ashraf Jamal, shared data on COPD symptoms saying the prevalence rate of COPD-related symptoms was 18.5pc. He said 26.7pc patients came with co-morbidities. Similarly, around 33.3pc COPD patients were hospitalised for their condition and 26.7pc visited emergency department due to their respiratory condition.

He said smoking was the major contributor that accounted for up to 75pc of all cases of COPD. Not only were smokers at higher risk, but they also harmed other people through passive smoking. Sheesha and e-cigarettes were also harmful and contributed heavily to the menace. People considered them a safe alternative but they were gravely mistaken. He urged people to stay away from smoking and other air pollutants.

Dr Jamal stressed that patients had to take care of their routines and habits, avoid triggers such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes and dust. Once diagnosed with COPD, daily medication was vital to fight it along with short-acting rescue inhalers.

“The COPD is a chronic disease and has no cure. The only way to counter it is through healthy living and using prescribed therapies,” Dr Jamal added.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015