Section of a lung showing centrilobular emphysema, with enlarged airspaces in the centre of a lobule usually caused by smoking and a major feature of COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation.[8]GOLD 2024 defined COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms (dyspnea or shortness of breath, cough, sputum production and/or exacerbations) due to abnormalities of the airways (bronchitis, bronchiolitis) and/or alveoli (emphysema) that cause persistent, often progressive, airflow obstruction.[9]
The main symptoms of COPD include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mucus.[4] COPD progressively worsens, with everyday activities such as walking or dressing becoming difficult.[3] While COPD is incurable, it is preventable and treatable. The two most common types of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis and have been the two classic COPD phenotypes. However, this basic dogma has been challenged as varying degrees of co-existing emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and potentially significant vascular diseases have all been acknowledged in those with COPD, giving rise to the classification of other phenotypes or subtypes.[10]
Emphysema is defined as enlarged airspaces (alveoli) whose walls have broken down resulting in permanent damage to the lung tissue. Chronic bronchitis is defined as a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years. Both of these conditions can exist without airflow limitation when they are not classed as COPD. Emphysema is just one of the structural abnormalities that can limit airflow and can exist without airflow limitation in a significant number of people.[11][12] Chronic bronchitis does not always result in airflow limitation. However, in young adults with chronic bronchitis who smoke, the risk of developing COPD is high.[13] Many definitions of COPD in the past included emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but these have never been included in GOLD report definitions.[14] Emphysema and chronic bronchitis remain the predominant phenotypes of COPD but there is often overlap between them and a number of other phenotypes have also been described.[10][15] COPD and asthma may coexist and converge in some individuals.[16] COPD is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation.[17]
As of 2015, COPD affected about 174.5 million people (2.4% of the global population).[7] It typically occurs in males and females over the age of 35–40.[1][3] In 2019 it caused 3.2 million deaths, 80% occurring in lower and middle income countries,[3] up from 2.4 million deaths in 1990.[24][25] In 2021, it was the fourth biggest cause of death, responsible for approximately 5% of total deaths.[26] The number of deaths is projected to increase further because of continued exposure to risk factors and an aging population.[14] In the United States in 2010 the economic cost was put at US$32.1 billion and projected to rise to US$49 billion in 2020.[27] In the United Kingdom this cost is estimated at £3.8 billion annually.[28]
^Torres-Duque CA, García-Rodriguez MC, González-García M (August 2016). "Is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Caused by Wood Smoke a Different Phenotype or a Different Entity?". Archivos de Bronconeumologia. 52 (8): 425–31. doi:10.1016/j.arbres.2016.04.004. PMID27207325.