COPD often blocks airflow through the lungs, leading to various respiratory problems.
Women smokers are at an increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disabling breathing disorder including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, according to the January issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s Healthsource.The symptoms pursuing COPD include persistent cough, increased mucus production, shortness of breath and frequent colds. The disease develops gradually, and is realized only when it reaches in the advanced stages.
Statistics have shown that death rate in women due to COPD increased at a much faster rate between 1980 and 2000, and the number exceeded men in 2000.
A recent study found that women with COPD have more breathlessness, higher rates of depression and lower quality of life than men with the disease.
Increased female COPD rates aptly show the increasing number of female smokers since the 1940s, when advertisers began endorsing smoking as a symbol of independent women.
COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the America and can be alleviated only by not smoking. It cuts down the loss of lung function and also reduces the death rate by nearly half.
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