Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) limits airflow in the lungs. This can lead to mild or severe shortness of breath that is not fully reversible even with treatment. People with COPD often have emphysema (damaged lung tissue) and/or chronic bronchitis (indicated by a frequent cough caused by excessive mucus production). The terms COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis are sometimes used interchangeably but COPD is the current preferred medical term that includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking is its main, but not only, cause.
COPD may also be associated with other chronic conditions such as asthma, respiratory cancers, diabetes and diseases of the heart and blood vessels due to shared risk factors and the effect of COPD on other parts of the body (AIHW: Australian Center for Asthma Monitoring, 2011).
Other than smoking, some of the exposures that are associated with an increased risk of having a diagnosis of COPD are:
- smoke from burning fuels of plant or animal origin
- outdoor air pollution
- fumes and dusts in the workplace
- childhood respiratory infections
- chronic asthma
(Salvi & Barnes 2009).
It can be difficult to distinguish COPD from asthma because the symptoms of both conditions can be similar. The current definitions of asthma (GINA 2009) and COPD (GOLD 2010) overlap. However, there are some important features that distinguish typical COPD from asthma. The development of COPD occurs over many years and therefore mainly affects the middle aged and older people while asthma affects people of all ages. People with COPD continue to lose lung function despite taking medication, which is not a common feature of asthma.
References
AIHW: Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring, 2011, Asthma in Australia 2011
The Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2010. Viewed 2 September 2011, http://www.ginasthma.org/.
The Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management and Prevention of COPD, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2010. Viewed 2 September 2011, http://www.goldcopd.org/.
Salvi SS & Barnes PJ 2009. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in non-smokers. Lancet 374:733-43.