‘COPD rising among non-smokers, courtesy bad air quality’

LUCKNOW : With 35 million cases, India has become chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) capital of the world while Uttar Pradesh shares 20% burden of the country.

Dr Suryakant, HoD respiratory disease department at the KGMU, gave this information.

Highlighting the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, he said, “Out of 15 lakh deaths from COPD across the world annually, 5 lakh occur in India alone. We lead both in terms of morbidity and mortality.”

Despite alarming numbers, COPD is highly neglected in the country, he said while cautioning that the coming season may give rise to such cases.

Another grave factor is that majority of the people have never heard the word COPD characterised by long-term breathing problems and poor airflow causing breathing difficulty, cough, mucus and wheezing.

It is caused by long term exposure to pollution. COPD, which was considered as the ‘smoker’s disease’, has seen an increase in the cases among non-smokers.

This is a major concern for the developing country like India as it is reported that at least onefourth of patients suffering from COPD have never smoked.

Current condition of air pollution has also made COPD a major concern in urban areas. “In terms of air pollution, 10 out of the most 20 polluted cities in the world are from India,” he said. As per the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016, women are more affected by household air pollution while smoking and occupational risks are common in men.