COPD Remains Considerable Public Health Burden Globally

FRIDAY, Aug. 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Globally, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a major public health concern, according to a study published online July 26 in The BMJ.

Saeid Safiri, Ph.D., from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and colleagues conducted a systematic analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 to report the global, regional, and national burden of COPD and its attributable risk factors between 1990 and 2019.

The researchers found 212.3 million prevalent cases of COPD were reported globally in 2019; COPD accounted for 3.3 million deaths and 74.4 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). For COPD, the global age standardized point prevalence, death, and DALY rates were 2,638.2, 42.5, and 926.1 per 100,000 population, representing decreases of 8.7, 41.7, and 39.8 percent, respectively, versus 1990. The global DALY rate of COPD increased to age 85 to 89 years in men, then decreased with advancing age, while the rate increased up to the oldest age group (95 years and older) among women. There was an overall reverse V-shaped association between sociodemographic index and the age-standardized rate of COPD. Smoking, pollution from ambient particulate matter, and occupational exposure to particulate matter, gases, and fumes were factors that contributed most to the DALY rates for COPD (46.0, 20.7, and 15.6 percent, respectively).

"Although the point prevalence, death, and DALY rates declined during the study period, the corresponding counts are increasing," the authors write. "With an ageing population, COPD will continue to become an even greater problem in the future."

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