Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease insidiously kills 17,000 people each year. A majority of French people underestimate this disease linked to tobacco.
“Respiratory disease that kills slowly. This little fire is the one that lights the cigarette and promotes the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). With this dark slogan, the 2013 campaign for World BCPO Day, this November 20, wants to emphasize the lethal nature of this disease, little known to the French, but which is progressing steadily.
A silent evolution
The “murderous unknown” of 2012 still is, according to an OpinionWay survey for the Breath Foundation revealed on the occasion of this World Day. Of the 1,028 people surveyed, only 11% said they knew about the disease. However, COPD affects 3.5 million French people … most often in silence. This helps to make it the 3e cause of death in the world according to the World Health Organization.
COPD is a chronic disease. It manifests as a slow obstruction of the airways and lungs. The first symptoms appear most often after 20 years of smoking. Diagnosed too late, it causes serious disabilities: frequent shortness of breath, respiratory assistance… It is an insidious disease: in two out of three cases of COPD, it is already too late at the time of diagnosis.
800,000 hospitalizations per year
The survey reveals that 9 out of 10 French people do not know what COPD is. Those who say they know her are most often between 35 and 64 years old and belong to the higher socio-professional categories. Many respondents also underestimate its prevalence. They are three quarters to think that 100,000 people maximum are reached. This disease, which causes 800,000 hospitalizations each year, is extremely poorly gauged. Half of the French consider that it is not fatal, while 17,000 fellow citizens die from it every year.
As the first risk factor for COPD, respondents cite pollution. They are very far from the account, since in eight cases out of ten, tobacco is responsible for the disease according to the High Authority of Health (HAS). Only 33% of French people clearly identify its causes. Last consequence of this ignorance: a small half of those polled are aware that COPD can be diagnosed early… but 35% of them do not know how. Spirometers are used to detect it upstream, by measuring the volumes of air inhaled and exhaled by the patient. In the event of suspicion following this examination, in-depth assessments are carried out. Most often, the patient is encouraged to consult a pulmonologist.
The survey nonetheless reveals a good knowledge of COPD among the health professionals questioned, general practitioners and pharmacists. A majority of them know about the disease, its symptoms and its risk factors. But they highlight a lack of curiosity among the French: only 48% of general practitioners and 20% of pharmacists answer questions about the disease.
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