COPD spreading fast in Pakistan: experts

LAHORE

The environmental factors of pollution, dust, industrial and vehicular smoke and cigarette smoking are major causes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is growing at a fast pace and may potentially become the third major killer disease in Pakistan by 2020. 

“The COPD is a chronic disease of difficulty breathing, unlike asthma with occasional attacks, caused due to inflammation of breathing arteries following environmental hazards and smoking,” expressed Pulmonology and chest specialists while addressing the audience at a seminar on “Breathing and Awareness” organised by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers) in collaboration with Pakistan Chest Society (Punjab chapter) and Getz Pharma held in connection with World COPD Day. 

Prof Dr Ashraf Jamal, President Pakistan Chest Society, Punjab, and Head of Department of Pulmonology, AIMC/Jinnah Hospital, said that the breathing arteries become narrow due to inflammation in COPD, which posed chronic difficulty breathing problem to the patients for life. “Continuous cigarette smoking, environmental pollution, fuel smoke and dust are contributing factors in COPD,” he added.

He said COPD was spreading fast in Pakistan and may become third largest killer disease by 2020. “There were 70 lakh COPD patients, whereas 40 per cent of the patients remain undiagnosed in Pakistan,” he said, adding that the symptoms included chronic cough, sputum and breathlessness during physical toil. He said that the disease got aggravated when the patient didn’t get proper treatment upon appearance of symptoms especially at an early stage. He said that COPD can be diagnosed through a simple test, which recorded pace and voice of breath, adding that asthma COPD were different diseases as the former attacked periodically and the latter was a chronic disease.

Prof Dr Kamran Cheema, Head of Department of Pulmonology, SIMS/Services Hospital, Lahore, said that COPD was a serious lung disease that made it harder and harder to breathe. He said that the protection from environmental hazards and quitting smoking would help prevent COPD or stop its further complications. “Unfortunately, the menace of cigarette smoking is spreading among children as well,” he regretted. He said that the COPD patients needed to take care of their diet, exercise and regular medicines to control its intensity. He said the COPD patients were given medicines through inhalers, which were available in different types in the market. However, he said, the COPD patients in serious condition are also given treatment in the form of oxygen therapy and BIPAP therapy. He advised people to reduce quantity of salt in their food and use of fresh vegetables and fruits in daily diet. “We will have to make collective struggle to beat the environmental pollution, especially in urban areas,” he added.

Prof Dr Saulat Ullah Khan, former faculty member of PGMI, stressed the need to spread awareness regarding chronic diseases like sugar, asthma and COPD so that these diseases could be prevented before happening. “Asthma can happen in childhood, whereas COPD affects the adults after the age of 40,” he said, adding asthma was curable but COPD remained for life.

“There were 210 million COPD patients in the world according to a survey of 2007, but the number of patients has risen sharply and there are approximately 600 million patients of COPD,” he informed, and revealed that there were at least 7.1 million COPD patients in Pakistan.

He informed that a mosquito coil was equivalent to 120 cigarettes and one cigarette contained at least 4,000 chemicals, therefore it was advisable not to use mosquito coils to destroy mosquitoes. “Other methods like repellents, sprays and blue light gadgets should be used to kill mosquitoes,” he said and informed that cigarette chemicals remained in the room for up to six hours if a single cigarette is smoked in a closed door room.