Emerging evidence suggests that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could be a risk factor for stroke.1,2 COPD is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, and up to 80% of patients with the disease have at least one comorbidity.2 Many of the commonalities between COPD and stroke portend poor outcomes for patients with both diseases: age, indoor…
According to a 2015 study, an estimated 60 to 70 percent of women experience shortness of breath during pregnancy. Doctors often attribute this to the growing uterus pushing upward on the lungs and making it difficult to breathe. This article will explore this and other possible reasons for shortness of breath during pregnancy. We also cover…
The American Lung Association offers resources and support for this serious, life-threatening lung disease Pulmonary fibrosis is a rare lung disease that causes irreversible scarring of the lungs, which can cause shortness of breath and a persistent cough, and progressively gets worse over time. And because there is no cure, a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis…
Smokers who quit have a substantially lower risk for lung cancer than current smokers even within 5 years of stopping smoking, new research shows. “If you smoke, now is a great time to quit,” says lead author Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, the William Anderson Spickard Jr. professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in…
An association between antibiotic treatment in the first week of life and atopic asthma in childhood found in a long-term study suggests an immune-mediated effect, possibly from early disturbance of gastrointestinal microbiota, according to researchers. Emma Goksor, MD, PhD, University of Paediatrics, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden and colleagues explained that disturbed microbiota can affect…
The “largest and most comprehensive observational study to date” provides no evidence of an association between serum vitamin D concentrations and risk for subsequent lung cancer and thus does not support the idea that vitamin D is protective. In a study by an international research group, pooled analysis of circulating vitamin D concentrations in prediagnostic…
Researchers from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research are reporting that outdoor air pollution is causing more widespread asthma symptoms. According to the study, long-term exposure to traffic and ozone significantly increases the risk of asthma attacks, and also increases the need for asthma medication and treatment. “It is very well known that…
Regular aspirin use was associated with a more than 50% reduction in emphysema/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) progression in an elderly cohort over a decade in a longitudinal analysis of data from a large lung study. The association was seen across aspirin doses and was greatest in older study participants with significant airflow obstruction. “These…