Increasing awareness: Pulmonary disease claims 71 lives every year say health experts

Say illness kills more people than lung cancer and breast cancer combined.

PESHAWAR:

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a preventable illness, kills 71 out of 100,000 patients in Pakistan every year, said health experts from Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) on World COPD Day on Monday.

The two main forms of COPD are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis results in prolonged cough and phlegm, while emphysema leads to the destruction of the lungs over time.



Dr Mukhtair Zaman, a pulmonologist in KTH, said that women are more vulnerable to this disease than men since women living in mountains and small villages, burn wood for cooking which expose them to fumes.

“Symptoms are only visible after the lungs are 50% destroyed. COPD is either genetic or caused by smoking and living in a polluted environment,” said Dr Zaman, adding that the main symptoms of the disease include breathlessness, excessive mucus, chronic cough and fatigue.



He further said that the disease is fatal and kills more people every year than lung cancer and breast cancer combined.

Up to 75% of patients suffering from COPD find everyday tasks difficult, including climbing stairs and doing household chores. The patients also go through psychological problems and suffer from anxiety and depression.

The best test for COPD is a lung function test called spirometry. This involves blowing out as hard as possible into a small machine that tests lung capacity.  Influenza vaccine is recommended as a rehabilitation programme for all patients.

Lady Reading Hospital Chief Executive Dr Arshad Javed said that the COPD is the sixth most common fatal disease in the world and is expected to become the third by 2030 if the situation does not change.

“We provide rehabilitation and therapy at our institutions,” Dr Javed added.

The speakers, however, could not share the total number of COPD patients in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and said that so far no survey has been conducted to find out the number of infected people.  According to the World Health Organization, 36% adult males and 9% females smoke in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2012.