MULTAN: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is likely to cause more deaths than any other disease in the country as it stems from smoking and pollution.

Dr Anjum Naveed Jamal, Pulmonology Department head of the Multan Institute of Cardiology, said this at a press conference on Tuesday.

“The non-availability of data on COPD-related deaths in the country is also helping the disease go unchecked and increase at a rapid pace,” he said, adding “a COPD patient who could be cured through proper medication often gets ignored and labeled with other respiratory diseases.”

Pakistani health professionals do not have an insight due to the lack of data, he said.

Dr Jamal said pollution particles such as smoke, dirt, mould or pollen risked human health as they could be inhaled and stuck in the respiratory system.

Country’s social setup, standard of living, illiteracy, self-medication and unawareness along with exposure to air pollution contributed towards COPD outbreaks, he said.

“Although, smokers are at the direct risk but they can also harm other people as well by sitting in a gathering and creating pollution for non-smokers. Similarly, air pollution is another risk factor for non-smokers and it is as dangerous as smoking,” he said.

He said that according to the World Health Organisation indoor air pollution resulting from the use of biomass fuels was responsible for nearly two million premature deaths each year worldwide.

“It is of no surprise that any person exposed to pollution might have become a victim of lung disease or COPD for quite some time. People should have themselves diagnosed if they are exposed to pollution,” he said.

He said indoor pollution in the third world countries was playing havoc with the lives of the people. In such countries people are exposed to household air pollution owing to poverty, rural to urban migration and use of non-biodegradable plastic bags that generate more pollution when burn.

“Nonetheless, black carbon (sooty particles) and methane emitted by inefficient stove combustion are powerful climate change pollutants. These factors take more lives of adults as over one third of premature deaths from the COPD in adults are because of household air pollution,” he added.

He said that in the developing countries like Pakistan men were at greater risk than women and more frequently caught up by COPD due to smoking habits. It is of no surprise that people who smoke regularly and are exposed to dense indoor pollution are at the double risk of premature death caused by the COPD.

He added outdoor air pollution also contributed to nearly 1.3 million deaths each year in the developing and developed countries.

“According to a foreign-funded study aimed at delivering quality asthma and the COPD care through primary health care facilities in Pakistan, non communicable diseases are among the top 10 causes of mortality and morbidity in Pakistan,” he said.

He said patients had to take care of their routines and habits. They needed to avoid triggers like cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes and dust.

Once diagnosed with the COPD, one needs to take daily medication to fight with it along with short-acting rescue inhalers as the COPD is a chronic disease and has no cure while the only way to counter is through healthy living and using prescribed therapies.

“Respiratory diseases are most predominant with a 26.5 percent of prevalence among the patients,” he said.

He said the estimated COPD mortality rate was 71 deaths per 100,000, which was the fourth highest rate among the 25 most populous nations in the world while the current estimated prevalence of asthma was close to 15 percent in the general population with an expected 5 percent annual increase.

He said awareness among the family members regarding cleaning up the air would help save children under the age of five and the elderly while slashing risk factors.

“We should realise that women and infants who spend more time indoor are at greater risk, so parents should avoid smoking in rooms and children should be kept away from smoke generating by coal and wood cook stoves,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2014