Awareness Increasing of Danger from COPD for Older
Americans, But Still Too Low
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says smokers
and others at high risk fail to talk to doctors
Nov.
2, 2009 - Awareness of COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease - continues to grow in the United States, according to national
survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. COPD includes
emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis.
Sixty-eight percent of adults are now aware of COPD,
a disease that affects 1 in 5 people over age 45, compared with 64
percent last year, and 49 percent in a 2004 survey.
Among a high risk group, those who are currently
smoking, awareness rose to 74 percent compared to 69 percent a year ago.
Less than half of all adults, 44 percent,
understand that the disease can be treated. November is National COPD
Awareness Month.
"Awareness is an important first step," said James
P. Kiley, Ph.D., director, NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases.
"However, awareness alone is not enough. People at
risk of developing the disease need to know what the disease looks and
feels like, and most importantly, to understand that it can be treated.
The key is to get tested and start treatment as soon as possible."
COPD, which is sometimes referred to as chronic
bronchitis or emphysema, is a serious lung disease affecting 24 million
men and women in the United States. However, half of them remain
undiagnosed despite recognizable symptoms such as shortness of breath
while doing activities that used to be easy, wheezing, or chronic cough
(sometimes called a "smoker's cough.")
Eight out of 10 cases of COPD are due to smoking,
typically affecting those over 40. The remaining cases are due to
genetics or other environmental exposures.
The survey showed that physicians maintain an
optimistic view about COPD treatability. Approximately 9 out of 10
primary care physicians agree that available treatments can optimize
quality of life for their patients with COPD. However, the survey also
showed that this message may not be familiar to their patients.
Symptoms of COPD were approximately two times more
common among current smokers than former smokers, but current smokers
are only half as likely to talk to their doctors about these symptoms.
Survey results also showed that 41 percent of
current smokers do not talk to their doctors about these symptoms
because they do not want to hear another quit smoking message.
COPD is diagnosed with a simple noninvasive
breathing test called spirometry, which can be conducted in a doctor's
office. Taking the test involves breathing hard and fast into a tube
connected to a machine which measures the total amount of air exhaled,
called the forced vital capacity or FVC, and how much air is exhaled in
the first second, called the forced expiratory volume in one second or
FEV1.
"We know that for many people, taking the step to
talk to a doctor about their smoking and symptoms is difficult," said
Kiley. "But these actions, including testing of lung function, should be
seen as proactive for better health."
The NHLBI analyzed the results of the annual
HealthStyles and DocStyles surveys of the public health attitudes,
knowledge, practices, and lifestyle habits of consumers and health care
professionals, conducted each year by Porter Novelli, communications
contractor for NHLBI's COPD Learn More Breathe Better campaign.
The results represent a sample of 4,172 consumers
through a mailed survey with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5
percentage points and 1,000 physicians through a Web-based survey with a
margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Both surveys
were conducted in summer 2009.
The NHLBI initiated the first national awareness
campaign on COPD, called the COPD Learn More Breathe Better
campaign, in 2007 to improve knowledge about COPD among those already
diagnosed and at risk for COPD, as well as health care providers –
particularly those in a primary care setting. The program's new effort,
Country Conquers COPD, aims to reach and raise knowledge of COPD
among people at-risk at country-themed fairs and festivals across the
country.
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and
supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep
disorders. The Institute also administers national health education
campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and
other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available
online at
www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The
Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers
and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the
causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For
more information about NIH and its programs, visit
www.nih.gov.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) makes
it hard for you to breathe. Coughing up mucus is often the first sign of
COPD. Chronic
bronchitis and
emphysema are common COPDs.
Your airways branch out inside your lungs like an
upside-down tree. At the end of each branch are small, balloon-like air
sacs. In healthy people, both the airways and air sacs are springy and
elastic. When you breathe in, each air sac fills with air like a small
balloon. The balloon deflates when you exhale. In COPD, your airways and
air sacs lose their shape and become floppy, like a stretched-out rubber
band.
Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD.
Breathing in other kinds of irritants, like pollution, dust or
chemicals, may also cause or contribute to COPD. Quitting smoking is the
best way to avoid developing COPD.
Treatment can make you more comfortable, but there
is no cure.
COPD is diagnosed with a simple noninvasive
breathing test called spirometry, which can be conducted in a doctor's
office. Taking the test involves breathing hard and fast into a tube
connected to a machine which measures the total amount of air exhaled,
called the forced vital capacity or FVC, and how much air is exhaled in
the first second, called the forced expiratory volume in one second or
FEV1. 
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) makes
it hard for you to breathe. Coughing up mucus is often the first sign of
COPD. Chronic