Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease - Highlights

Highlights

Causes

• Although smoking tobacco has been established as a major risk for COPD, an estimated 25% to 45% of COPD patients in developing countries have never smoked. Exposure to smoke from wood, plants, and other biomass fires might actually pose the biggest risk for COPD in developing countries. Exposure to secondhand smoke is another major risk factor.
• People who smoke both tobacco and marijuana face three times the risk of developing COPD compared to nonsmokers, although smoking marijuana alone does not seem to increase the risk.

Medication

• Past studies have suggested that inhaled corticosteroid medications might increase the risk of developing and dying from pneumonia in patients with COPD. However, a recent review found no increased pneumonia risk in patients.
• Although inhaled corticosteroids can help prevent COPD exacerbations, new research finds that the benefits may not be as significant as was once thought.
• Combining long-acting beta2-agonists with inhaled corticosteroids does not seem to provide any additional benefits, including decreasing the chance of COPD exacerbations or death.
• Statins, commonly used drugs to lower cholesterol, may also help the lungs of COPD patients. More research is needed to prove these benefits.

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Lifestyle Changes

• Exercise training can improve muscle strength in COPD patients, and helps with everyday activities like climbing stairs and standing up from a chair.

Review Date: 04/10/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).