Lung Health in Europe in 21 Century: COPD

The European Lung Foundation and the European Respiratory Society have launched a short version of the European Lung White Book, centred around a series of infographics focusing on the key statistics on epidemiology and burden of Respiratory diseases in Europe.

The book, which was launched in Brussels this week, is aimed at policymakers, the public and patients who are looking to quickly and updated access the information on the Respiratory health in Europe.

Today we are happy to present you infographics on COPD from European Lung White Book. 

World COPD Day 2013 is under corner

Dear Respiratory friends World COPD Day 2013 is under corner!!! Join our Social Media event: World COPD Day 2013 on Respiratory Decade!!

or direct link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/231327290364322/

Efforts to improve early diagnosis, develop new treatments, and better predict patients’ prognoses are leading to renewed optimism in the fight against one of the world’s most prevalent respiratory diseases.

The illness, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is a non-communicable lung disease that progressively robs sufferers of breath. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, causing more than 3 million deaths every year, and up to half of people with the disease don’t know they have it.

20 November 2013 is the twelfth annual World COPD Day, an event held each November to raise awareness of COPD worldwide. This year’s World COPD Day theme, “It’s not too late,” emphasizes the meaningful actions people can take to improve their respiratory health, at any stage before or after a COPD diagnosis.

New study on COPD Surveillance in United States, 1999-2011

New study on COPD Surveillance in United States, 1999-2011 was published in Chest!!

COPD is a serious public health problem in the United States. In 2008, chronic lower respiratory diseases, of which COPD represents the principal component, became the third leading cause of mortality. Because smoking is the dominant risk factor for COPD and contributed to about 80% of COPD deaths in 2000 to 2004, much of this disease is potentially preventable. People with COPD experience worse health-related quality of life, more disabilities, and higher rates of comorbidities than people without COPD.

This report updates surveillance results for COPD in the United States. For 1999 to 2011, data from national data systems for adults aged ≥ 25 years were analyzed. In 2011, 6.5% of adults (approximately 13.7 million) reported having been diagnosed with COPD.

New 2013 Guidelines on Pulmonary Rehabilitation

A fresh guideline on pulmonary rehabilitation has been published this week, helping professionals, patients and the public understand what to expect from a pulmonary rehabilitation programme.

The new guideline, produced by the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society, supports the use of pulmonary rehabilitation as an essential part of the care offered to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other long-term lung conditions.

Link to 2013 Guidelines on Pulmonary Rehabilitation

For the first time, the European Lung Foundation has produced a patient version of this official ERS guideline. 

Link to this important Respiratory document

This document can be freely downloaded to help increase public understanding and awareness of pulmonary rehabilitation and what to expect from the programme.

The Lung Health and Medicine Revolution in Respiratory Century

Over the past century we have become adept at suppressing the symptoms of respiratory diseases but we have made little progress in curing them. Respiratory diseases are responsible for over 650,000 deaths annually in the EU and the burden on health systems is increasing as the population ages. A revolutionary collaborative approach to research funding is providing new insights into the origins of chronic respiratory diseases. All stakeholders in respiratory medicine are pooling their knowledge and resources to focus on risk factors to find cures, formulate new vaccines and develop cutting-edge technologies to tackle the burden of chronic respiratory diseases.