COPD significantly reduces quality of life

Shortness of breath, chronic coughing, wheezing, weight loss, heart failure in later stages and exacerbations that often require hospitalisation, contribute to the generally poorer quality of life of COPD patients.

COPD ranks high as a cause of disability

In 1990 COPD was the 12th most common cause of disability in the world. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020 COPD will rank 5th as a cause of disability, causing 4% of the total DALYs lost. Moreover, it will rise from its current ranking as the 6th most common cause of death to the 3rd (Murray & Lopez, 1997c).

This dramatic increase is due to several factors (Barnes, 2000):

• increase in smoking prevalence (industrialised countries);
• increase in environmental pollution (developing countries);
• reduction in mortality from other causes in industrialised countries (especially cardiovascular diseases);
• reduction in mortality from infectious diseases (developing countries).

COPD has high societal costs

The total financial burden of lung disease in Europe amounts to nearly €102 billion. COPD accounts for almost one half of this figure (European Lung White Book, 2003)

An economic analysis of data from the Confronting COPD International Survey study, a large-scale survey conducted in North America and Europe, has shown that COPD has a high economic impact on society. The total societal costs of COPD per patient range between €3,538 in Spain and €1,024 in the Netherlands. Lost productivity due to COPD accounted for 67% of overall costs in France, 50% in the Netherlands and 41% in the UK. The costs to the healthcare system per patient - mainly due to exacerbations and subsequent hospitalisations - range from €3,238 in Spain to €614 in the Netherlands and €530 in France. These data not only provide information about the actual costs, but also about the differences in disease management. The burden of COPD can be reduced through policies aimed at better evaluation, diagnosis and management of COPD, including improved prevention and treatment of acute exacerbations (Wouters, 2003).