'COPD may become leading cause of deaths'

The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is likely to cause more deaths than any other disease in the country as it has direct association with smoking and pollution.
Dr Anjum Naveed Jamal, Assistant Professor & Head of Pulmonology Department, Multan Institute of Cardiology said that non-availability of data on COPD related deaths in the country is additionally causing this disease to increase at a rapid pace without being noticed; COPD patient who could be managed through proper medication often gets ignored and labelled with other respiratory diseases, hence Pakistani health professionals do not have an insight due to lack of data collection. He added that pollution particles including smoke, dirt, mould or pollen and their fine size are the biggest risks to human health as they can easily be inhaled and stuck in the respiratory system.
The country's social set up, standard of living, illiteracy, practice of self medication and unawareness along with exposure to air pollution is a big risk factor for developing COPD, he mentioned.
He said that although, smokers are at more risk but they can also harm other people as well by sitting in a gathering and creating pollution for non-smokers. Similarly, air pollution is another risk factor for non-smokers and it is as dangerous as smoking.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) indoor air pollution resulting from the use of biomass fuels is responsible for nearly two million premature deaths each year worldwide. It will be of no surprise that any person with exposure of pollution might have become a victim of lung disease or COPD for quite some time. People should have themselves diagnosed if they are exposed to pollution.
Dr Anjum Naveed Jamal further said that indoor pollution in third world countries is playing havoc with the lives of the people, in such countries people are exposed to household air pollution owing to poverty level, rural to urban migration, use of non-biodegradable plastic bags that generate more pollution when burn. Nonetheless, black carbon (sooty particles) and methane emitted by inefficient stove combustion are powerful climate change pollutants. These factors take more lives of adults as over one third of premature deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults are because of household air pollution.
Moreover, in developing countries like Pakistan men are at greater risk than women and more frequently caught up by COPD due to smoking habit. It is of no surprise that people who smoke regularly and live in dense indoor pollution are at the double risk of premature death caused by COPD, he said, adding: 'Outdoor air pollution also contributes to nearly 1.3 million deaths each year in underdeveloped and developed countries.'
According to a foreign funded study aimed at delivering quality asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care through primary health care facilities in Pakistan, non communicable diseases (NCDs) are among the top ten causes of mortality and morbidity in Pakistan.
Dr Anjum Naveed Jamal further said that patients have to take care of their routines and habits; they have to avoid triggers like cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes and dust. Once diagnosed with COPD, daily medication is vital to fight with COPD along with short-acting rescue inhalers. COPD is a chronic disease and has no cure. Only way to counter is through healthy living and using prescribed therapies, he added.
'Respiratory diseases are most predominant with the prevalence percentage of 26.5% among all the patients. The estimated COPD mortality rate is 71 deaths per 100,000 which is the 4th highest rate among the 25 most populous nations in the world. The current estimated prevalence of asthma is close to 15% in the general population with an expected 5% annual increase,' he said. He added that awareness among the family members regarding cleaning up the air will help save children under the age of five and the elderly while slashing risk factors. We should realise that women and infants who spend more time indoor are at greater risk so parent should avoid smoking in rooms and children should be kept away from smoke generating by coal and wood cook stoves.