COPD in India – the Silent but Deadly Disease No One Talks About

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COPD in India the silent but deadly disease no
one talks about
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• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD in
  India was the cause of death for over 1 million
  people in India behind heart disease in 2017. It
  is an umbrella term used to describe various
  progressive lung diseases such as refractory
  asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. The
  most common symptoms are breathlessness,
  recurrent cough and coughing up thick sputum on a
  regular basis. While it is currently classified
  as incurable, the right diagnosis and treatment
  can help manage the symptoms of COPD and help
  people breathe easier.
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• Air quality is a major contributor
• The rise in the number of cases of COPD in India
  is alarming, and while it remains more prevalent
  in smokers or non-smokers who spend a lot of time
  around smokers, it can also be attributed to
  other causes such as rising air pollution levels.
  The detrimental effects of air pollution such as
  decrease in pulmonary function, acute
  exacerbation of COPD, increase in infections, the
  onset of asthma, increase in number of
  hospitalizations, higher prevalence of childhood
  asthma, and increased respiratory mortality shows
  that quality of air is a key factor in
  determining quality of life.
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• The challenges faced by Indian doctors
• The diagnosis of COPD in India is extremely
  challenging. A test for the disease spirometry
  isnt easily available throughout the country.
  The use of spirometry in India to identify COPD
  and asthma is also low amongst doctors who cite
  lack of time, high costs, equipment expenses and
  difficulty in performing and interpreting the
  test. Additionally, the greater focus of medical
  education on cardiovascular and neurological
  health means that many fully trained doctors in
  India are unable to read a spirogram effectively.
  
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• The need for inclusion in the NPCDCS
• In 2010, The (NPCDCS) National Programme for
  Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes,
  Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke was launched
  in 100 districts and 21 states around the
  country. The focus? Early diagnosis, management
  and case referral, overall health promotion and
  infrastructure and capacity building. At that
  time, the focus on these diseases was justified,
  but now, even with COPD rising to second position
  in the causes of death amongst Indians, there
  havent been any significant efforts to screen or
  manage the disease. Even with the introduction of
  the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which has
  benefited over 13 million people via screening
  for diseases such as different forms of cancer,
  hypertension, and diabetes, the focus on COPD has
  been non-existent. The lack of a structured
  effort to tackle COPD is one of the leading
  causes of the high mortality rates of COPD
  patients in the country.
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• Timely diagnosis is essential for the management
  of COPD
• Without spirometry, which requires a trained
  technician for an accurate diagnosis, almost 60
  of patients remain undiagnosed, with 44
  sufferers of severe COPD. This is an especially
  important statistic in rural India, where rather
  than LPG, people still use biomass for cooking.
  On average in these households, if a person
  spends 2 or 3 hours cooking every day, they will
  breathe about 25 million liters of much polluted
  air, which could lead to COPD or exacerbate it.
  To ensure damage to the lungs in minimal, steps
  must be taken to educate people about the risks
  of COPD, diagnose the disease successfully, and
  devise a method of management that enhances
  comfort in patients. COPD deserves more attention
  today, for the statistics to change for the
  better.
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