Chronic respiratory disease – the acceptable epidemic?

Abstract

AChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of disability and death in the UK but is an even greater problem in low income countries. It is assumed by many to be almost entirely attributed to smoking. However, smoking alone cannot account for the distribution of the disease in the world and there is accumulating evidence that the disease is overwhelmingly a disease of poverty. The size of the problem and the failure of current hypotheses to explain the distribution of chronic lung disease make the lack of funding in this area surprising. The failure of science funders to respond to the analysis of the Cooksey report, which pointed out the extreme discrepancy between the size of the problem and the paucity of research funding, represents a serious failure in science policy. The lack of urgency in the face of such a large burden of illness suggests a degree of complacency in the face of a disease that is overwhelmingly a disease of the poor.

The Impact ofACEandACE2Gene Polymorphisms in Pulmonary Diseases Including COVID-19

“…Nevertheless, the common denominator includes the deterioration of patients' quality of life that can often lead to several years of disability. The main CRDs are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary hypertension (PH), asthma and lung cancer, with COPD alone being the third leading cause of death worldwide, as reported in 2010 (1,5,6).…”

“…Nevertheless, the common denominator includes the deterioration of patients' quality of life that can often lead to several years of disability. The main CRDs are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary hypertension (PH), asthma and lung cancer, with COPD alone being the third leading cause of death worldwide, as reported in 2010 (1,5,6).On the other hand, acute lung diseases with an infectional etiology, pose a significant threat not only to lung health but also to human life (7). A recent great example is the 2019 outbreak of the novel coronavirus strain SARS-CoV-2 in China, causing the extremely infectious disease COVID-19, that led to a global pandemic and to millions of deaths, mainly due to severe respiratory complications (8, 9).…”

Contemporary perspectives in COPD: Patient burden, the role of gender and trajectories of multimorbidity

“…COPD is responsible for 2.6% of global disability‐adjusted life years (DALY) lost and 3.2 million deaths annually 1 . An increasing proportion of the burden of COPD now falls in low‐ and middle‐income countries, 2 as progress in tackling infectious diseases and conditions in childhood mean that non‐communicable diseases (NCD) are becoming more prominent. The tobacco industry is seeking to expand markets in these areas even as smoking rates fall in Europe and North America 3 .…”

The scale of the problem of obstructive lung disease in Africa becomes clearer, but where are the solutions?

“…Thanks to papers such as by MAGITTA et al [4] in this journal, the scale and long-term implications of COPD in Africa are beginning to be seen more clearly, but there are so many questions still remaining about the causes of COPD and how best to address it. Research is needed on a scale which matches the problem, and that is not forthcoming [27]. COPD is a silent but not acceptable epidemic.…”