Lanarkshire blighted by lung disease
LANARKSHIRE is the second worst area in the UK for life-threatening lung disease Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
According to the British Lung Foundation, residents are 44 per cent more likely to be hospitalised with COPD than the national average.
COPD covers a broad range of illnesses including chronic bronchitis and emphysema and more than 4,500 Scots die each year due to it – equating to two every hour.
The foundation estimates that there are 2.8 million people in the UK who have COPD and do not know it. The research was carried out to help identify which areas these people are most likely to live.
Andrew Powrie-Smith, head of the British Lung Foundation Scotland, said: "It's vitally important that we find the missing millions with COPD.
"This disease blights the lives of those who have it and places a huge burden on the NHS, particularly in areas like Lanarkshire.
"If people with COPD can be diagnosed earlier, we could dramatically reduce the death rate and human suffering from this debilitating disease."
Adults in Lanarkshire are advised to ask for a lung test if they are over 35 and suffer from breathlessness, a persistent cough or lots of phlegm. Those who smoke or have smoked in the past are also at high risk.
NHS Lanarkshire estimates that 80 per cent of COPD cases are caused by smoking, while the other 20 per cent comes from workers in heavy industrial settings.
A spokesperson for the health board said: "There are reasons for the high number of cases in Lanarkshire and these include the high number of smokers in the area and its heavy industrial legacy.
"We are aware that there are these issues and are putting strategies in place to help deal with them.
"About 80 per cent of people effected are smokers and we are doing a lot to try to help people to stop. Our smoking cessation service is available to everyone and has very high success rates.
"On the other side of things, we are also looking to improve our diagnosis and treatment of patients who contract the disease.
"We want to identify and diagnose as many people as possible so that they can get the help they need and this involves more testing of COPD. At the moment all of the testing is done in GP practices and hospitals and we want to look at expanding it to local clinics and health centres in the spring of next year.
"The disease is incurable and people who contract have to live with the disease for the rest of their lives. What we want to do is identify these people and help them to manage it and live as comfortable and full a life as possible."
Greater Glasgow and Clyde is the worst area for the disease, while Orkney is one of the best with people 46 per cent less likely to contract the illness.
For more information on COPD and how to spot it, visit www.lunguk.org or call 0845 8505 020.
To access local smoking cessation groups, call 863258.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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