Asthma greater risk for COPD than smoking: report

By Sheilah Downey (sheilahd (at) foodconsumer.org)

More than 210 million people worldwide suffer the discomfort of strained breathing with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), according to the World Health Organization.

An umbrella term to cover emphysema and chronic bronchitis, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the world today, but is expected to be the third cause of death by 2030, according to an editorial in The Lancet.

And while COPD has been almost always attributed to smoking, Dr. Sundeep Salvi and Dr. Peter Barnes argue that smoking is not the biggest risk factor for the disease, according to reports dating back to 1963.

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) listed  causes of the disease as tobacco smoke, occupational dusts and chemicals, indoor air pollution and outdoor air pollution. Other exposures include  indoor pollution from biomass fuel, pulmonary tuberculosis and chronic asthma.

"Chronic asthma is also of interest because it carries a greater risk of developing COPD than that caused by smoking," states the Lancet. "If asthma development is on the increase around the world, COPD incidence is likely to increase as well, perhaps even more so than the current predictions."

Previous studies have linked occupational exposure to compounds that can lead to long-term severe respiratory problems, such as the link between asbestos and mesothelioma.

"Therefore, it is not a great leap to think that occupational exposures are also important risk factors for COPD," states the editorial.