Causes of COPD and other risk factors

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease that attacks the lungs and ultimately decreases the lungs' ability to bind oxygen. There are a number of conditions that will reduce the lungs' ability to absorb oxygen. Once you have COPD, you will live with it forever because it is incurable. Knowing the causes of COPD will help you prevent this one condition. Check out the following reviews.

What causes COPD?

The main cause of COPD is smoking. Quoted from the Mayo Clinic, in developing countries, COPD can also be caused by smoke from burning fuel, including burning fuel for cooking in homes with poor ventilation.

COPD is a condition that is rarely seen in chronic smokers. They usually have decreased lung function. This condition will only be discovered if you do a thorough examination.

There are several causes of COPD:

1. Blockage (obstruction) of the airway

Airway obstruction or blockage that can cause COPD is emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Here's the explanation.

Emphysema

This lung disease causes damage to the walls of the air sacs (alveoli). Emphysema can make you short of breath because the small airways when you exhale collapse. This interferes with the flow of air out of the lungs. When you have COPD, emphysema often appears with bronchiolitis, which is an inflammatory condition and blockage of the small airways (bronchioles) in the lungs.

Chronic bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is an inflammatory condition of the airways (bronchial tubes). This condition makes you produce a lot of mucus, which narrows the airways and causes a chronic cough.

2. Smoking and exposure to pollutants

Most COPD cases are caused by long-term smoking. However, there are several other factors that may also contribute to COPD, such as immunity to the disease.

Exposure to other pollutants can also cause COPD because not all active smokers are affected by this condition. Some of them are curutu smoke, secondhand smoke, air pollution, and exposure to dust or smoke.

3. Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency

In rare cases, COPD occurs due to a genetic disorder that causes low levels of the alpha-1-antitrypsin protein. Alpha-1-antitrypsin is a protein that is produced in the liver and distributed to the bloodstream. The point is to help protect the lungs.

When you are deficient in alpha-1-antitrypsin, you can suffer from a variety of conditions, such as liver disease, lung disease (such as COPD), or even both at once.

What causes COPD to worsen?

Even though it can't be cured, you don't need to worry immediately about your life as a COPD sufferer. You can live comfortably as long as you avoid the causative factors that can worsen COPD. These factors are also known as trigger factors.

The cause of a COPD patient experiencing exacerbations, aka worsening of symptoms is different. However, these generally include:

• cigarette smoke or air pollution
• a disease (respiratory infection) such as a cold, flu, or pneumonia
• cleaning supplies or other chemicals
• gases, particles, or dust from inside the house

When exposed to the trigger factors above, it is possible that your lungs will find it difficult to work as they should. As a result, you will experience breathing problems, such as shortness of breath, and other symptoms of COPD.

Worsening of COPD symptoms is also called flare-ups or exacerbation. This condition occurs when you are exposed to these trigger factors. Symptoms may be mild, but there can also be severe symptoms that require you to go to the hospital.

Knowing the causative factors that can worsen COPD can help you to keep your lungs healthy. This is also useful for reducing and preventing possible attacks.

Discipline in carrying out COPD treatment, such as taking drugs and staying physically active as recommended by the doctor can also help prevent the condition flare-ups .

What increases your risk of developing COPD?

COPD occurs slowly and usually gets worse over time. In the early stages, this disease does not cause symptoms.

COPD prevention and early treatment can help avoid serious lung damage, serious respiratory problems, and even heart failure.

To prevent this, the first step you need to take is to know the risk factors that cause COPD, including:

1. Smoking

The main risk factor for COPD is smoking, which accounts for up to 90% of COPD case deaths, according to American Lung Association (ALA). Smokers are about 13 times more likely to die from COPD than those who have never smoked.

Long-term exposure to tobacco smoke is extremely dangerous. The longer the year and the more packs of cigarettes you smoke, the greater your risk.

Cigarette smokers are at equal risk. Even not only those who are active smokers, passive smokers (secondhand smoke) also puts you at risk.

Cigarette smoke that is inhaled by smokers contains not only the smoke from the tobacco that is burned, but also the air that is exhaled by active smokers.

2. Air pollution

Although smoking is by far the main risk factor for COPD, it is not the only one. Indoor and outdoor pollutants can also be one of the factors that put you at risk for COPD if it is intense and prolonged.

Indoor air pollution includes particles from fuel fumes used for cooking and heating. Some examples are poorly ventilated wood stoves, burning biomass or coal, or cooking over fire.

Exposure to large amounts of environmental pollution is another risk factor for COPD. Indoor air quality plays an important role in the development of COPD in developing countries.

However, urban air pollution — such as traffic pollution and combustion-related pollution — poses a greater health risk worldwide.

3. Dust and chemicals

Long-term exposure to dust, chemicals, and industrial gases can irritate and cause inflammation of the airways and lungs, increasing the risk of COPD. People in professions that are frequently exposed to chemical dust and fumes, such as coal miners, grain workers, and metal molders, are at greater risk of developing these diseases.

One study in American Journal of Epidemiology found that work-related COPD was estimated at 19.2% overall. As many as 31.1% of them have never smoked.

4. Genetics

In rare cases, genetic factors can cause people who have never smoked or who have been exposed to long-term particulates to develop COPD. The genetic disorder causes alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. AAT deficiency can also lead to another lung disease, namely bronchietasis.

Although AAT deficiency is the only genetic risk factor for COPD present, it is likely that multiple genes are additional risk factors. Researchers have not been able to prove this.

5. Age

COPD is most often experienced by people aged at least 40 years who have a history of smoking. This incidence increases with age. Although there is nothing you can do when it comes to age, you can take precautions and adopt a healthy lifestyle to maintain your health.

If you have risk factors for COPD, it's important to discuss them with your doctor. ALA recommends proactively consulting your doctor about COPD if you are over 45 years of age, have family members who have the disease, or if you are an active smoker or ex-smoker. Early detection of COPD is the key to successful treatment.