An estimated 55,000 New Brunswickers have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
And Barbara Walls of the New Brunswick Lunch Association tells us there are likely more who have not been diagnosed.
“It is on the rise, especially as the population is aging,” says Walls. “This is a disease that can take anywhere from three to four decades to develop.”
COPD has been described as a disease of middle age because it doesn’t occur until people are 40 or older.
Walls says New Brunswick has high rates of COPD because we have so many smokers and a lot of them are young.
“People can either have chronic bronchitis or emphysema, although most patients have both,” says Walls. “COPD itself is commonly caused by smoking or being exposed to second-hand smoke.”
In rare cases, it can be caused by exposure to high levels of outdoor air pollution.
COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
