Pierson Says CDC COPD Data Is A 'Call to Arms'

Pierson Says CDC COPD Data Is A 'Call to Arms'

November 1, 2002
Chronic obstructive lung disease, or COPD, now affects about 24 million Americans, most of them past or current smokers. Nearly 58 percent do not even know they may have the disease, say new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These data, says David J. Pierson, MD, FAARC, editor in chief of RESPIRATORY CARE, the profession's science journal, are a "call to arms" for those in respiratory care.

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Surveillance -- United States, 1971-2000, reprinted in the October issue of RESPIRATORY CARE, contains the grim statistics. In 2000, COPD was responsible for 8 million physician office and hospital outpatient visits, 1.5 million emergency department visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 119,000 deaths. In May 2001, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute said that the cost of COPD in both direct and indirect costs for the year 2000 was nearly $30.4 billion.

"These are indeed sobering findings," says Dr. Pierson. "Not only do these new statistics reveal that the disease is on the rise and becoming more prevalent, but it also illustrates the true impact of tobacco smoking on the health of U.S. citizens, and most particularly on women."

"In the past, more men then women died from long-term smoking in a single year, but in 2000, according to the data, out of the 119,000 COPD deaths, 59,936 were women. However, as substantiated by the population-based mortality rates, men are more likely to die from the disease than women," Dr. Pierson adds.

"What's more, these data indicate that the majority of the undiagnosed COPD cases are in the mild or moderate stages," Dr. Pierson says. "And, it is during these early stages that treatment can have its greatest impact on the prognosis and future quality of life."

"This study should be a call to arms for everyone involved in respiratory care. The respiratory therapists, physicians, and others involved in respiratory care can -- and should -- spearhead a nationwide effort to diagnose COPD more often and earlier than in the past.

"We have the tools to help enormous numbers of our patients through diagnosis, education, and therapy. COPD may not be a glamorous disease, but it has a tremendous impact on the lives of Americans; the way they live, how much it costs them, and the distress to their families are all at stake. This national COPD epidemic represents an opportunity for us to demonstrate the value of respiratory care in all aspects of diagnosis and management."