The aim of this day is to educate people who do not know that they are affected by this pathology, according to a press release from the association “Committee against respiratory diseases”.
Actions will take place in regions, in more than twenty cities in France, on the occasion of this eighth World Day on November 18. In particular, awareness-raising and screening actions will take place. The list is available on the website of the Committee against Respiratory Diseases, Lesouffle.org.
3 to 3.5 million people suffer from COPD in France, or 7.5% of the population, according to Inserm figures dating from 2007. Among these patients, one million have reached a symptomatic stage and 60,000 to 100,000 have respiratory failure which requires continuous administration of oxygen.
Two out of three patients affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) would not be aware of it. They have real bronchial obstruction, but don’t know they’re sick because no diagnosis has been made, the statement said.
68% of the working population suffering from cough and shortness of breath do not worry about it and do not consult, according to a barometer of the Louis Harris polling institute dating from 2005.
However, the flu is more serious in people with COPD, especially because the lung is less defensive, and because secondary bacterial infections are more frequent. COPD can get worse under the effects of viral infection and bacterial superinfection.
COPD causes nearly 100,000 hospitalizations and nearly 16,000 deaths each year, or 3% of deaths in France, according to Inserm figures from 2007.
COPD is a serious and disabling disease of the lungs characterized by obstruction of the bronchi. This disease should be the fourth cause of death in France in 2030, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Source: www.lesouffle.org
