Experts lament dearth of research on COPD

MULTAN:

“There is a dearth of research on identification and diagnosis of pulmonary diseases that are often confused with common respiratory diseases,” said Dr. Anjum Naveed Jamal, Head of Pulmonology Department at the Multan Institute of Cardiology.

He was addressing a seminar on identification of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Talking to participants, he said chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) went largely undetected due to lack of awareness.

He said lack of data on COPD-related deaths was alarming.

“A COPD patient, who could be managed through proper medication, often gets treated for respiratory diseases. Many health professionals cannot recognise it.”He said smoke, dirt, mould and pollen were dangerous for health.

He said according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), indoor air pollution resulting from use of biomass fuel was responsible for nearly two million premature deaths each year worldwide.

“WHO estimates that there are nearly 20,000 death caused by COPD annually in Pakistan” he said.

“Smokers are more susceptible to the disease but they can also harm people around them,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2015.