LAS VEGAS - Women are 37 percent more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than men and now account for more than half of all deaths attributed to COPD in our nation.
The American Lung Association's latest health disparity report, "Taking Her Breath Away: The Rise of COPD in Women," examines the nation's third leading cause of death and its increased prevalence among women in Nevada and throughout the United States.
More than seven 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 Nevada, 86,303 women currently have COPD, which is 8.8 percent of Nevada's population.
"Women with COPD are 1.5 times more likely never smoked than men with COPD," said Amy Beaulieu, director of programs, American Lung Association in Nevada. "That indicates that women are more susceptible to lung damage from secondhand smoke and occupational exposures. Many of the women in Nevada work in hospitality environments that expose them daily to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke."
COPD is a progressive lung disease with no known cure that 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.
The American Lung Association in Nevada sponsors Better Breather Clubs which offer the opportunity to learn ways to better cope with COPD while getting the support of others who share in their struggles.
The support groups give people with COPD the tools they need to live the best quality of life possible. Clubs meet regularly at locations throughout the state.
Anyone with a chronic lung condition, their loved ones and their caregivers are welcome to attend. Club meeting topics include COPD 101, Around the Clock with COPD, Traveling with Oxygen, Lung Health and Exercise, and Lung Health and Nutrition.
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.
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.
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 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) creating and supporting 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 healthcare systems changes to improve the timeliness and quality of COPD care.
This report is part of the Lung Association's Disparities in Lung Health Series.
For more information on Better Breather Clubs, please contact the American Lung Association in Nevada office, (702) 431-6333. To download a copy of the report, visit: www.lung.org/copdinwomen.
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