Even as India has observed, for the first time, the World COPD Day on November 17, underlining its potential as a leading cause of mortality in the country, doctors fear that the silent disease can become a major health issue in the years to come.
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a chronic lung disease, caused by exposure to smoke and pollution, which progressively worsens over time. The cost of care could well exceed that of diabetes, high BP and even heart diseases.
Dr Sanjeev Mehta, governor, American Council of Chest Physicians in India and chest physician at Lilavati Hospital (Mumbai) said that pollution and tobacco smoking are overwhelmingly important risk factors causing the continuing deterioration of lung function and disease progression in COPD. Other risk factors include passive smoking and exposure to dusts and chemicals. Therefore, the lung function in Indians is much less than that of international normal values.
“COPD is a silent killer, more than half of the people suffering from COPD in India are not diagnosed and there is need to create greater awareness about this disease and its symptoms and encourage patients to seek lung function testing,” Dr Mehta said.
COPD is a little-known, but widespread disease and a major cause of health care burden worldwide. Shockingly it is the only leading cause of death that is increasing in prevalence. The onset of winter increases the attacks of COPD and worsens the condition of the disease.
On the occasion of World COPD Day, Dr Mehta informed that new treatments have become available recently that have significantly improved the health of our patients. He warns that ignoring the common cold and cough that are rampant in this season could aggravate COPD and lead to dangerous consequences such as respiratory distress and hospitalisation. Each attack of COPD is like a heart attack; preventing such attacks saves the lung from further damage.
COPD in India has been recognised and investigated with the help of small surveys conducted in the different population for the last 40 years. 5-15 per cent of Indian population in metros suffers from respiratory disorders. It is expected that a greater segment of population in India will be prone to this deadly disease within the next few years. Globally by 2020, COPD is expected to rise to the third position as a cause of death from the present sixth position. This could well be the situation in India too.
The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) is planning to conduct physician’s workshops across India in addition to organising campaigns to increase awareness and stress the importance of preventive strategies for the dreadful disease. ACCP is a medical organisation consisting of physicians and non-physician specialists in the field of chest medicine, which includes pulmonology, thoracic surgery and critical care medicine.