Simple screening for common lung disease could relieve millions globally

The global burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a group of common lung conditions that affects more than 300* million people, could be significantly reduced with a simple health assessment, concludes a large-scale international study led by UCL researchers. COPD includes serious lung conditions, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and is the world's third leading cause of morbidity with more than three million deaths a year. The greatest burden on COPD is in lowand middle-income countries (LMIC), which account for around 90% of COPD related deaths. Globally, COPD has also been a major risk factor associated with Covid-19 outcomes. In high-income countries, COPD is typically caused by smoking tobacco and is diagnosed using a spirometer, where an individual blows into a device that measures how much air a person can breathe out in one forced breath. Diagnosis is straightforward and symptoms can be effectively treated. However, in LMICs the primary cause of COPD is more varied and includes household air pollution in the form of biomass smoke for cooking and heating; other causes include impaired lung growth, chronic asthma and post-tuberculosis lung damage.