Risk Factor for COPD
1. Smoking and Smokers
The main cause of COPD in older age is smoking. Most of the COPD cases are due to cigarette smoking for a long time period. Exposure to cigarette and tobacco smoke for a long time is dangerous. The longer and more you smoke, you are more risk of developing COPD.
In the same way, secondary smokers are also at risk. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), smoking causes up to 90 percent of COPD deaths and many pieces of research suggest that the person who is exposed to secondary smoke chronically may have an increased risk of developing COPD even though they don’t smoke too.
Secondary smoke or Secondhand smoke includes the smoke from different sources like smoke from burning tobacco, smoke exhaled by the neighbor smokers.
But it is not that all active and passive smokers develop COPD. Likewise, the risk factor for COPD could be the environment or the genetic causes also.
2. Gene Factors
Some People with COPD can be due to gene factors too. One type of emphysema has a genetic component and they are most common in people from northern Europe. These people have a deficiency of alpha 1 protease inhibitor (alpha1 antitrypsin-ATT). People with this defect can have early COPD.
3. Age Factor
Age is also one of the risk factors for COPD. As growing age, you are more likely to develop COPD. This age factor is also related to the number of cigarettes smoked and the time of years as of smoking which is also called pack-year.
The more pack-year, the more chances of COPD likely to occur with growing older age.
4. Medical Conditions
There are different medical conditions that also enhance COPD in older age. Those people who had frequent childhood lung infections are most likely prone to an increased risk of developing COPD.
5. Gender
COPD is more common in men than in women comparatively. However, there is a higher rate of this disease in smoking men. The number of COPD death in women are increasing with those with a history of smoking history.
6. Environmental and Pollutants Exposure
Chronic exposure to dust, gases, chemicals, and biomass fuels increases the developing COPD in both men and women population. Smoke from burning wood, charcoal, and crop residue for a long time can also have COPD and the person exposed to these pollutants can also worsen symptoms of the disease.
7. Air pollution
Air Pollution is also one risk factor for COPD. Exposure to the pollutants contained in the air for a prolonged time can cause this condition as well.
Two types of pollutants are there: One is an indoor air pollutant and the next is an outdoor air pollutant.
Indoor pollutants include includes the smoke of solid fuel which are used for cooking and heating while outdoor pollutants are pollutant from the outside environment. Poorly ventilated wood stoves, burning biomass or coal, or cooking with fire are the indoor pollution whereas the road traffics, dust and smoke are the outdoor ones.
8. Occupational chemicals
Industrial dust, chemicals, and gases are also responsible for COPD development in a person. The chemicals from these industries act as irritants for the airways and lungs thus they get inflamed causing bronchitis and emphysema and thus lately it will cause this airway disease forever.
In the same way, the People exposed to dust and chemical vapors in coal mining, grain, and metal molders, have a greater risk factor for COPD to develop.
What’s COPD?
COPD Sign and Symptoms
Conclusion :
Keeping away yourself from the Risk factor of COPD will prevent it in older ages. Hope you got to know about What’s COPD as well.
Once you have this condition, then nothing can be done, and just need to prevent the COPD sign and symptoms is the treatment option
