The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) is continuing to mobilize its members to raise awareness of COPD and help prevent the risk factors that cause it. 210 million people have COPD worldwide, causing the death of at least 2.9 million people each year. It is the sixth major cause of death and disability in…
Try to imagine what it might feel like to take every breath through a straw. For many people with lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, they don’t have to imagine because that’s what breathing can feel like on many days, especially days when air pollution levels are high. With COPD it often…
Smoking is to blame for about 14 million major medical conditions among American adults yearly, a new study shows. That number is higher than the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) last estimate, in the year 2000, which found that American adults suffered from 12.7 million smoking-attributable conditions. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)…
There is a correlation between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development, with a more pronounced association in women, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers found. In study results published in International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, researchers examined the data of 26,546 women and 19,015 men…
Exercise may seem daunting to your patients, but has many proven benefits for people with COPD. It will improve their ability to do more without feeling breathless and help them to rediscover activities they could no longer do. Exercise can bring specific benefits to people with lung disease, as well as general improvements to health…
Smokers who try to quit can double or triple their chances by getting counseling, medicine, or both. Individualized smoking cessation plans and education based on your patient’s needs and goals are key to improving the chances of your patients quitting. Studies show that smokers assisted by a health care provider have a much greater chance….
More than a quarter of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a history of smoking also have air flow limitation compatible with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Japanese study data show. Strikingly, the vast majority (87.7%) of patients found to have such airflow limitation had not previously been diagnosed with COPD, report Katsuya Onishi (Onishi…
We have been talking a lot about smoking over the past few weeks and its effect on COPD, asthma, and general health long-term. And today, we have more. Nearly 10 percent of cancer patients still smoke. Nearly nine years after diagnosis, bad habits die hard and some are saying “What’s the point?” Nine years after…