A Snapshot Of COPD In California

More than 1 million Californians suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with a large portion of the cases in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

The disease, which includes many people who suffer from chronic conditions such as bronchitis, emphysema and asthma, cuts across many demographic lines throughout California, according to data gathered and analyzed by UCLA researchers.

COPD is most closely linked to smoking but can also be caused by pollution, diet and a genetic precondition. It is the third leading cause of death nationwide and the fourth in California.

Those diagnosed with COPD are far from the picture of glowing health: 42.8% say they are in fair to poor health, while 54.5% say they feel physically or mentally limited as a result of their condition. 

Although nearly 34% of Californians with COPD currently smoke, more than 37% of sufferers have never smoked. The incidence of the condition among those exposed to secondhand smoke in their household is double the rates of those who live in households where no smoking takes place.

“Continued exposure to smoking or noxious particles, such  as air pollution, increases the rate of decline in health status, and as the disease progresses, individuals will gradually lose their ability to breathe,” said the study, which was published by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. 

Meanwhile, the data concluded that only 431,000 of COPD sufferers have visited a physician for treatment, and only about half of sufferers take any sort of medication.

Although a third of adults suffering from COPD are over the age of 65, fully a quarter are under the age of 45. And more than 64% of COPD sufferers say they have at least some college education, strongly suggesting that the condition cuts across all socioeconomic lines. 

However, nearly 23% of COPD sufferers are Latino, 12% are Asian, and 9% are AFrican-American.

About 550,000 sufferers of COPD are located in Southern California, with about 195,000 in Los Angeles County, the state's most populous region.

The study’s authors recommended that early interventions be developed in order to reduce the incidences of COPD.

Early and appropriate treatment and interventions to reduce the barriers to care will be influential in diminishing the social and economic impact of COPD in California,” the study concluded.