Chief pulmonologist of the Ministry of Health called the dangers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In Russia, COPD is the leader among all causes of death caused by respiratory diseases.

The acronym COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) has become an increasingly popular diagnosis in recent years. Among the causes of death of Russians, it occupies one of the first places. We are talking about a whole group of diseases that ultimately lead to scarring of the lung tissue – and a person simply cannot breathe. In the vast majority of cases, COPD develops in smokers. Exclusively for MK, the chief pulmonologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Sergey Avdeev told what symptoms to pay attention to in order to suspect the disease in time and slow down its progression.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease associated with inflammation of the airways, which leads to their narrowing, that is, obstruction. This prevents a person from breathing normally, often leads to disability, and in the most serious cases can cause death. If we talk about world statistics, then this disease ranks third among all causes of death after cardiovascular and oncological diseases. In some countries, such as India, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is in second place.

With regard to indicators in Russia, COPD is the leader among all causes of death caused by respiratory diseases (47% of all respiratory causes). According to a study by Russian pulmonologists, the number of patients throughout the state can reach 10 million people, while some of them are not even aware of the presence of the disease.

The most common method for diagnosing COPD is spirometry. Each clinic and hospital in our country has specialized devices for this.

However, the main problem is that people, not knowing about COPD, do not attach importance to the first symptoms and take them as signs of age-related changes. That is why at the moment the number of people with a confirmed diagnosis is 30-40%, and the majority of COPD remains undetected. The main signs to look out for are shortness of breath, coughing, and sputum production.

Constant diagnostics is especially important for people at high risk. First of all, this applies to smokers. In our country, smoking remains the main cause of COPD. Harmful working conditions to a lesser extent lead to illness, but remain one of the main causes of its occurrence. For example, miners and welders can be classified as risk groups. Living in a metropolis, with its environmental problems, also poses a risk of developing COPD.

COPD is an incurable disease, but timely and correct therapy can reduce its impact. A number of inhaled drugs have already been developed to help patients in the treatment of the disease. Their use significantly reduces symptoms and improves quality of life.

However, there are certain problems in terms of drug availability for patients with COPD. Despite the fact that COPD is today a serious threat to society, which can lead to disability and even death, patients cannot receive proper therapy at the federal level. In the Russian Federation, there is an official list of socially significant diseases, on the basis of which priority state programs of medical and social care for patients are developed. Currently, COPD is not on this list.

In some regions, such as Karelia and St. Petersburg, local authorities have developed a system of benefits for patients with COPD, but such regions are only an exception to the rule. Understanding the medical, social and economic significance of this disease and the need for systemic measures to combat it, the medical community has been doing tremendous work for many years in two main directions. First, the recognition of COPD as a socially significant disease, which will make patient therapy more accessible. Secondly, it is necessary to inform the population about the existence of such an insidious and incurable disease. “In this way, my colleagues and I hope to preserve the health of citizens, but for this we need help from both government agencies and each individual,” sums up Sergey Avdeev.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29063 dated July 5, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Not free breathing