Frequency of COPD
Chronic bronchitis is the most common chronic lung disease. Approximately 20% of all men suffer from it. Women are significantly less affected.
For every woman who is ill, there are 3 – 4 ill men. It is estimated that about 44 million people are affected worldwide. In Germany about 15% of the over 40 year olds are ill. Among the over 70-year-olds it is twice as many. Most of those affected are smokers or ex-smokers.
What is the difference between COPD and asthma?
COPD and asthma are two very different diseases, but they can cause similar symptoms, as both lead to complaints due to an obstruction (unification) of the airways. While COPD is a disease that tends to occur in the second half of life, asthma usually particularly affects children and adolescents. Their symptoms often improve in adulthood.
COPD is a chronic obstruction of the airways. In most cases the airways are damaged due to inhaled pollutants. Asthma, on the other hand, is in most cases a reaction to allergic substances, resulting in acute narrowing of the airways.
For this reason, asthma occurs mainly episodically and in attacks, there are symptom-free phases. In contrast, COPD is often insidious at the beginning, so that it is not particularly noticeable and only worsens as it progresses. Due to the unnoticed onset, the damage caused by COPD cannot be reversed.
The obstruction is therefore described as persistent (= remaining). In asthma, on the other hand, the obstruction can be temporarily relieved by medication. As soon as the substance to which the affected person is reacting is no longer in the body, the asthmatic symptoms also improve. These articles may also be of interest to you:
- Asthma Symptoms
- How asthma is diagnosed
