A Lung Threat Called COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sees a rise in India as the foul air of our cities takes a toll on our respiratory systems

- Sonali Acharjee

Shashank Mishra had never heard of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) till his 69-year-old father was diagnosed with it last December. Since then, life has turned upside down for the Delhi-based engineer, because "there is nothing more difficult than watching a parent struggle for breath". Common COPD symptoms include breathlessness, constant mucus formation and wheezing, which prevents many patients from falling asleep. "My father is now going to respiratory rehab, but since there is only one centre near our house, getting an appointment takes long," says Mishra.

It is a problem many in the country have found themselves facing in the past few years. "COPD is not Covid or asthma," says Dr Vivek Singh, director of respiratory and sleep medicine at the Medanta hospital in Gurugram. "It is an irreversible condition where one's airways get blocked and a patient can't breathe. In severe cases, even taking two steps becomes difficult." And while numbers are hard to come by, cases of COPD have been increasing steadily over the years.

According to the global burden of disease (GBD), a tool that helps measure mortality across countries, time, age and sex, COPD is the second leading cause of death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYS) in India. Based on prevalence studies, mortality data and the burden of risk factors for COPD across India, the 2019 data for GBD estimated COPD prevalence to be 37.8 million cases accounting for 9.5 per cent of the deaths in India, from 28.1 million cases in 1990. "It is a growing burden in India," says Dr Randeep Guleria, pulmonologist and former director of AIIMS, Delhi. "While smoking was a big risk factor previously for developing COPD later on in life, air pollution is playing a major role now."