Global burden of COPD

Abstract

It is estimated that the world population will reach a record 7.3 billion in 2015, and the high burden of chronic conditions associated with ageing and smoking will increase further. Respiratory diseases in general receive little attention and funding in comparison with other major causes of global morbidity and mortality.In particular, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been a major public health problem and will remain a challenge for clinicians within the 21st century. Worldwide, COPD is in the spotlight, since its high prevalence, morbidity and mortality create formidable challenges for health-care systems. This review emphasizes the magnitude of the COPD problem from a clinician's standpoint by drawing extensively from the new findings of the Global Burden of Disease study. Updated,distilled information on the population distribution of COPD is useful for the clinician to help provide an appreciation of the relative impact of COPD in daily practice compared with other chronic conditions, and to allocate minimum resources in anticipation of future needs in care. Despite recent trends in reduction of COPD standardized mortality rates and some recent successes in anti-smoking efforts in a number of Western countries, the overarching demographic impact of ageing in an ever-expanding world population, joined with other factors such as high rates of smoking and air pollution in Asia, will ensure that COPD will continue to pose an ever-increasing problem well into the 21st century.

Impact of the financial crisis on COPD burden: Greece as a case study

“…The prevalence of COPD has been estimated to be approximately 210 million cases worldwide [17]. However, a recent consensus has increased this estimate to 328 million individuals [18], while some reports suggest there are now 600 million cases [19]. COPD is the attributed cause of 2.9 million deaths, making it the third leading cause of mortality behind cardiovascular disease and cancer [20].…”

Short-term effects of ambient fine particulate matter pollution on hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Beijing, China

“…Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem that affects more than 300 million people and accounts for an estimated 3.2 million deaths worldwide in 2015 [1,2]. In China, the number of COPD cases increased from 32.4 million in 1990 to 54.8 million in 2013 [3].…”

Screening in der Pneumologie

“…Zudem sind die obstruktiven Atemwegserkrankungen mittlerweile anerkannte Volkskrankheiten [3] und auch andere Lungenerkrankungen, wie interstitielle Lungenerkrankungen, pulmonale Hypertonie oder Mukoviszidose verlassen nach und nach den Bereich der seltenen Krankheiten.…”