American Lung Association report

Women at greater risk of COPD; half don't know they have it

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[June 08, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- Women are 37 percent more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 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 Illinois and throughout the United States.

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.

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  • 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 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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