Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: COPD Risk May Occur In Adolescence

New findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveal that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not always caused from an accelerated decline of lung function is not a prerequisite for COPD.

While it has been generally assumed that those suffering from COPD experience an accelerated decline of lung function, the study results emphasized that this is just the case for about 50 percent of patients with COPD. For the other 50 percent who will develop the disease, they will have close to normal lung function decline.

"This long-term chronic disease can be developed in different ways, so achieving normal growth in lung function in early adulthood is an important factor in terms of future risk," said Peter Lange, Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at Hvidovre Hospital and professor at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.

For the study, researchers comprised data based on three large cohorts where individuals were subjected to repeated lung function measurements over the course of several years. In two of the cohorts, the longest follow-up period was about 25 years.

They hope that the long-term benefits of the study will include a better understanding of the development of COPD, which may play an important part in the prevention of new cases. Furthermore, researchers noted the importance of achieving maximum lung function in childhood and early adulthood as a determinant of future COPD risk.

"Thus, every effort should be undertaken to achieve normal growth of lung function including non-smoking during teenage years, treatment of asthma in childhood and reducing exposure to agents such as passive smoking," Lange concluded.

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