Smokers beware!

There is no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which is expected to become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030, writes Meera Murugesan

COPD can result in persistent coughing.

HE first realised that something was wrong when he struggled to breathe while running for the bus one day. Then there was the persistent cough. When outdoors in traffic-choked areas, he would often find himself breathless.

Hanafi MohammadNooris64yearsold. Previously an interior design project consultant, he currently lives in Singapore with his wife, and is one of the many individuals around the globe with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

It is a progressive lung disease that makes it increasingly hard to breathe. It is typically caused by long-term exposure to irritants that damage the lungs and the airways.

Cigarette smoke is the leading cause of the disease, with 89 to 97 per cent of sufferers identified as current or past smokers.

“My symptoms continued for four to five years before I saw a doctor. At that time, I didn’t know about the disease and the effect it would have on my life,” says Hanafi.

Like Hanafi, many people don’t realise that they have COPD as during its early stages, the disease may display only mild symptoms which go unnoticed.

As COPD progresses, daily activities can become very difficult and sufferers may experience exacerbations — serious episodes of increased breathlessness, in 2010.

COPD continues to be a growing threat due to high smoking prevalence and our ageing population, explains Datuk Dr Zainudin Md Zin, consultant physician of Internal and Respiratory Medicine at KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital and chairman of the Lung Foundation of Malaysia.

”As the risk increases, so does the need to heighten awareness among the public on the impact of COPD and the irreparable damage it can cause to the lungs,” says Dr Zainudin.

The best way to prevent COPD is to avoid smoking or to quit smoking, stresses Associate Professor Dr Pang Yong Kek, consultant respiratory physician at University Malaya Medical Centre and president of the Malaysian Thoracic Society.

”However, if someone has been diagnosed with COPD, there are ways in which we can help relieve symptoms, improve patients’ quality of life and reduce the risk cough and mucus production that can last betweenseveral days to afewweeks. These episodes can result in the need for urgent medical care (including hospitalisation) and sometimes death.

In people with COPD, less air flows in and out of the airway because of damage to the lungs. This difficulty in emptying air out of the lungs (airflow obstruction) can lead to shortness of breath or feeling tired because you are working harder to breathe.

Increasing breathlessness, particularly whenbeing active, a persistent chesty cough, frequent chest infections andpersistent wheezing are among the symptoms of Datuk Dr Zainudin the condition. Md Zin

COPD usually affects cigarette smokers and becomes apparent after 40 or 50 years of age. The likelihood of developing COPD increases the more you smoke and the longer you’ve smoked.

There is currently no cure for COPD and with approximately 384 million people thought to suffer from it globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

In our country, the Global Burden of Disease study ranked COPDasthe seventh most common cause of premature death

Women are now equally at risk of COPD. Photo credit: optimalwellnesslabs.com of death,” he explains.

While cigarette smoke is the leading cause of COPD, environmental factors such as long-term exposure to certain dust, chemicals, and air pollution, and genetic factors may also contribute to the disease.

According to WHO, COPD was previously reported to be more common in men but because of comparably high levels of tobacco smoking among women in highincome countries and the higher risk of exposure to indoor air pollution for women in low income countries, the disease is now estimated to affect men and women almost equally.

More than 90 per cent of COPD deaths occur in low and middle income countries, where effective strategies for prevention and control are not always implemented or accessible.

Dr Pang Yong Kek