 More than 7 million women in the United States currently have COPD,
and millions more have symptoms but have yet to be diagnosed. The
number of deaths among women from COPD has more than quadrupled
since 1980, and since 2000 the disease has claimed the lives of more
women than men in this country each year. In Illinois, 350,553 women
currently have COPD, which is 7.1 percent of the state's population.
"COPD has become a major women's health issue, on par with heart
disease, breast and ovarian cancer," said Michael Mark, R.N.,
director of the American Lung Association's Lung HelpLine. "These
numbers may also reflect, in part, a correction of gender bias in
the diagnosis of COPD. Studies have demonstrated a tendency to
diagnosis women with 'asthma' and men with 'COPD' in identical
clinical situations," said Mark.
COPD is a progressive lung disease with no known cure. The
disease slowly robs its sufferers of the ability to draw
life-sustaining breath. Only heart disease and cancer kill more
Americans than COPD does. Smoking is the primary cause of COPD, but
there are other important causes such as air pollution.
"Taking Her Breath Away: The Rise of COPD in Women," identifies
an interplay of risk-factor exposures, biological susceptibility and
sociocultural factors contributing to COPD's disproportionate burden
on women.
Foremost, the rise of COPD in women is closely tied to the
success of tobacco industry marketing. Cigarette smoking was rare
among women in the early 20th century but started increasing in
earnest in the late 1960s after the tobacco industry began
aggressively targeting its deadly products specifically to women.
"The first wave of COPD in women occurred during the Second World
War, when 'Rosie the Riveters' took the place of men in factories
and started smoking, spurred by magazine and radio advertising. We
are now in the second wave, as the 'Virginia Slims' generation has
been smoking for over 30 years," said Mark.
While nationwide anti-tobacco campaigns and policy changes have
successfully decreased smoking rates for both women and men in the
recent past, the tobacco industry's success in addicting women
smokers long ago is still resulting in new cases of COPD and other
tobacco-related illness in those women as they have aged.
Other key findings include:
-
Since COPD has
historically been thought of as a "man's disease," women are
underdiagnosed and undertreated for COPD.
-
Women are more
vulnerable than men to lung damage from cigarette smoke and
other pollutants.
-
Women are
especially more vulnerable to COPD before the age of 65.
-
Women with COPD
have more frequent disease flare-ups -- a sudden worsening of
COPD symptoms that is often caused by a cold or other lung
infection.
-
Effective
treatment of COPD is complicated, and women don't always get the
kind of care that meets their needs.
-
The quality of life for women with COPD
is impaired at an earlier age and is worse overall than that of
men with similar severity of disease.
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The American Lung Association calls on government agencies, the
research and funding community, insurers and health systems,
employers, clinicians, women and their families to take steps now to
address this deadly disease.
These steps are detailed in the full report and include the
strengthening of the public health response to COPD, including
creation and support by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention of a comprehensive COPD program similar to what is
already in place for other major public health problems; increased
investment in gender-specific COPD research; expanded efforts to
protect everyone from harmful exposures that cause COPD, such as
cigarette smoke and outdoor air pollution; and implementation of
changes in health care systems to improve the timeliness and quality
of COPD care.
"Too many women in Illinois are dying from COPD, and this clearly
calls for our attention and energy," said Lew Barfield, chief
executive officer of the American Lung Association of the Upper
Midwest. "The American Lung Association will continue to lead
efforts on the national, state and local levels to help those who
suffer, fund research to find a cure, and advocate for policies that
encourage smokers to quit and prevent youth and adults from
starting."
The report is part of the American Lung Association's Disparities
in Lung Health Series.
To download the report,
click here or
visit
www.lung.org/copdinwomen.
See table: COPD
adult prevalence by sex and state
[Text from news release from the
American Lung Association in
Illinois]
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