Women at the center of a global day against COPD
World Day of fight against chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was organized in France, under the slogan "women are victims of COPD", said the organizers of the event at a press conference.
Women, the first target!
COPD common complication of smoking is irreversible, but its progression can be slowed by smoking cessation . It mainly by shortness of breath on exertion and can lead to chronic respiratory failure. Although responsible for 16,000 deaths per year in France, it is still little known to the general public, especially women, yet largely affected by this disease.
As the National Committee against respiratory diseases (CNMR), which organized the World Day against COPD in France, in partnership with the Society of Pneumology French (SPLF), the French Federation of insufficient and friendly respiratory (Ffair) and COPD Association-he wanted to assess the knowledge of the disease among women smokers and measure their assessment of symptoms, said Dr. Gerard Huchon, president of the committee.
The telephone survey, conducted by Louis Harris Institute from September 17 to October 2, 2004, among a representative sample of 1,749 women aged 30 to 70 years, identified and examine in more detail 324 smokers.
The main results of this survey confirm that women are "largely affected by COPD," said Dr. Gerard Huchon one-third of smokers with respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath) and 10% of them are disabled everyday these symptoms.
Nevertheless, women "are unfamiliar with the disease and neglect the symptoms," continued the President of the National Committee against respiratory diseases, noting that only 4% of smokers are medically monitored and only a hundred smoky spontaneously cite COPD concern among tobacco-related diseases. In total, less than a third (30%) of women surveyed say they know what COPD.
Awareness necessary
Yet women already account for 30% of patients with COPD and "this reality is changing, as it reflects the smoking habits about ten years ago," said Dr. Gerard Huchon. This proportion will therefore grow as women now tend to catch up with men in terms of the frequency of smoking, said Dr. Elizabeth Biron, liberal pulmonologist (Lyon).
In 2000, the United States (where smoking among women was developed earlier in France), the number of COPD deaths for the first time was as important in women than in men, has she said.
"Women are no longer at all spared by this disease, particularly if there is an inequality between the sexes to the disease," she said. "A smoking equal, women have a greater than men of developing COPD risk and the disease is more severe in them," warned the Lyon pulmonologist.
Smokers and smokers must realize that they are at significant risk of being severely handicapped in their daily lives because of shortness of breath by which the disease manifests itself. Already aware of the risks of smoking in terms of cancer and cardiovascular disease, they must be aware of this third respiratory risk, said Dr. Bruno Housset, president of the Society of French Speaking Pneumology (SPLF).
Specialists present therefore unanimously recommended for smokers older than 40 years of consulting their doctor. Especially the detection of COPD is based on "tests measuring painless and non-invasive breath," stressed Dr. Elizabeth Biron. She also recalled that this disease affects the breath "can therefore not be seen on a chest x-ray": "normal radio does not mean that one is not sick," she added.
COPD common complication of smoking is irreversible, but its progression can be slowed by smoking cessation . It mainly by shortness of breath on exertion and can lead to chronic respiratory failure. Although responsible for 16,000 deaths per year in France, it is still little known to the general public, especially women, yet largely affected by this disease.
As the National Committee against respiratory diseases (CNMR), which organized the World Day against COPD in France, in partnership with the Society of Pneumology French (SPLF), the French Federation of insufficient and friendly respiratory (Ffair) and COPD Association-he wanted to assess the knowledge of the disease among women smokers and measure their assessment of symptoms, said Dr. Gerard Huchon, president of the committee.
The telephone survey, conducted by Louis Harris Institute from September 17 to October 2, 2004, among a representative sample of 1,749 women aged 30 to 70 years, identified and examine in more detail 324 smokers.
The main results of this survey confirm that women are "largely affected by COPD," said Dr. Gerard Huchon one-third of smokers with respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath) and 10% of them are disabled everyday these symptoms.
Nevertheless, women "are unfamiliar with the disease and neglect the symptoms," continued the President of the National Committee against respiratory diseases, noting that only 4% of smokers are medically monitored and only a hundred smoky spontaneously cite COPD concern among tobacco-related diseases. In total, less than a third (30%) of women surveyed say they know what COPD.
Awareness necessary
Yet women already account for 30% of patients with COPD and "this reality is changing, as it reflects the smoking habits about ten years ago," said Dr. Gerard Huchon. This proportion will therefore grow as women now tend to catch up with men in terms of the frequency of smoking, said Dr. Elizabeth Biron, liberal pulmonologist (Lyon).
In 2000, the United States (where smoking among women was developed earlier in France), the number of COPD deaths for the first time was as important in women than in men, has she said.
"Women are no longer at all spared by this disease, particularly if there is an inequality between the sexes to the disease," she said. "A smoking equal, women have a greater than men of developing COPD risk and the disease is more severe in them," warned the Lyon pulmonologist.
Smokers and smokers must realize that they are at significant risk of being severely handicapped in their daily lives because of shortness of breath by which the disease manifests itself. Already aware of the risks of smoking in terms of cancer and cardiovascular disease, they must be aware of this third respiratory risk, said Dr. Bruno Housset, president of the Society of French Speaking Pneumology (SPLF).
Specialists present therefore unanimously recommended for smokers older than 40 years of consulting their doctor. Especially the detection of COPD is based on "tests measuring painless and non-invasive breath," stressed Dr. Elizabeth Biron. She also recalled that this disease affects the breath "can therefore not be seen on a chest x-ray": "normal radio does not mean that one is not sick," she added.
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