Women Increasingly Being Diagnosed with COPD

A recent report released in the Medical Journal of Australia has revealed that more women are dying from diseases related to smoking than ever before. Smoking is thought to be responsible for approximately 60% of the cases of COPD. As a result, the report is calling for creating more anti-cigarette campaigns that are targeted specifically toward women.

According to a review of hospital admissions in Australia, the number of deaths and admissions for asthma have fallen. At the same time, the rates of women diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, has risen. The disease is characterized by wheezing, coughing, and breathlessness.

In 1993 alone, 1,900 women in Australia lost their lives to the disease. This number increased to 2,300 in 2003. Men, on the other hand, had a drop during this same time period, with 4,000 losing their lives to the disease in 1993 and 3,200 in 2003. While more men are still currently affected by the disease than women, the trend is certainly disturbing for women.

Although the study was based in Adelaide in Australia, researchers state that the data represents international trends. People that go undiagnosed with the disease have also been found to have a poorer quality of life than those that have been diagnosed and are receiving treatment.