Ever heard of chronic respiratory diseases or CRDs? They’re a group of lung conditions that stick around for a long time, making it hard for people to breathe.
Shockingly, in 2019, these diseases were the third biggest killer globally, causing a whopping 4.0 million deaths!
The Disease Detectives
Sara Momtazmanesh, a medical doctor from Tehran, Iran, joined forces with a bunch of other doctors from around the world to find out more about CRDs.
They looked at loads of data from 204 different countries, covering a 30-year period from 1990 to 2019. They wanted to know how many people were living with these diseases, how many years of life they lost, and how many people died.
What the Numbers Say
These lung diseases claimed the third spot in the killer list in 2019. That year, they caused 4.0 million deaths and affected 454.6 million people worldwide.
But here’s the weird part: while the total number of deaths and cases went up by 28.5% and 39.8% from 1990 to 2019, when they took age into account, the rates actually went down by 41.7% and 16.9%.
The Worst Offenders
Among these lung diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or COPD for short) was the biggest culprit. It caused 3.3 million deaths and affected 212.3 million people.
But wait, there’s more. Asthma, another chronic lung disease, had the most number of cases with 262.4 million people affected.
Over the 30 years, the burden of COPD, asthma, and another disease called pneumoconiosis went down globally. But, other diseases like interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis actually increased.
The Deadly Triggers
So, what’s causing all these lung diseases and deaths? The top villain is smoking, followed by air pollution and risks at work.
This means we need to get serious about cutting down smoking and cleaning up the air, especially in poorer countries where the death rates are highest.
The Way Forward
The study authors are urging for more global effort to control tobacco use and improve air quality to reduce the burden of these lung diseases.
They’re also calling for better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, especially in low-income countries.
Now, don’t forget, a few of the study authors have financial ties to drug companies. But still, the findings are clear: chronic lung diseases are a major health problem we need to tackle.
If you care about lung health, please read studies about why Viagra may be useful in treating lung diseases, and scientists find herbal supplement to treat lung cancer.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about gum disease linked to impaired lung function, and results showing COVID-19 is not just a respiratory illness, it can cause strokes too.
The study was published in eClinicalMedicine.
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