Researchers from the department of respiratory medicine at the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Chengdu, China, have found that the global burden of young COPD (defined as COPD patients between the ages of 20 and 50) has decreased. This is despite the fact that the overall number of COPD patients has increased.
According to a study published in BMC Public Health, researchers used the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Researchers examined the age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR), age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized death rate (ASDR) and age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to describe the burden of the disease.
In 2021, the total global number of young COPD cases was 30,384,539 and the ASPR, ASIR, ASDR, and age-standardized DALYs rates fell slightly, the researchers wrote. Regionally, Oceania — which comprises Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific Ocean — reported the highest ASPR, ASDR, and age-standardized DALYs rate. High-income North America reported the highest ASIR.
From 1990 to 2021, both the prevalence and death rates for COPD showed consistent downward trends among all age groups. The leading DALYs risk factors of young COPD were found to be household air pollution from solid fuels (20.4%), ambient particulate matter pollution (17.9%) and smoking (13.5%).
The researchers suggested some steps forward to help continue the downward trend of young COPD burden and reduce the overall number of cases.
“Improving air quality, promoting smoking cessation, increasing access to lung function tests and raising awareness of young COPD are key strategies for alleviating the burden,” they wrote.
