By 2025, as many as 600 million people around the world could be diagnosed with COPD.
That’s according to a study released in December by ResMed, which projected a 23% increase by 2025 in people 25 years and older. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, also found the illness will have a disproportionate impact among women and residents of low- and middle-income countries.
By 2050, the number of women with COPD is projected to increase by 47%, compared to a 9% growth in men. Low- and middle-income countries are forecast to see a more than 32% increase in cases during the same time period.
The study says that these increases will be driven by several factors, including increases in smoking and biomass smoke during cooking in poorly ventilated homes.
Carlos Nunez, MD, chief medical officer at ResMed, said the numbers show a growing need to take immediate action to lower the risk factors of COPD and raise awareness of its symptoms.
“The disproportionate growth of COPD among women is a critical finding as COPD has not always been prevalent in women,” Dr. Nunez said. “As a health care community, we have a responsibility to be more vigilant in screening, testing and proactively providing COPD education to female patients as well as communities that may not have easy access to this information. Education accompanied by action can have a positive impact by mobilizing people to get diagnosed and treated early.”
