Risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with pre-existing asthma is called asthma and COPD overlap syndrome was 42% among women according to the researcher’s findings. Progression risk factors were found to be related to individuals habits rather than exposure in a study encompassing data from a 14 years follow up of women diagnosed with asthma.
ACOS lowers quality of life and increases frequency and severity of acute exacerbations of asthma, incidence is rising, causing more deaths in women than men. Smoking is the most common risk factor , women who smoked over 5 pack years, equivalent of one pack a day for 5 years, were found to have higher risk factors. The syndrome was found to affect 38% of non-smoking women with asthma indicating that smoking was not a specific risk factor in this study.
Additional risks factors included obesity, rural location, unemployment, and lower educational strata, reasons were not investigated due to lack of information, but may include not getting medical help, lack of proper treatment, and failure to comply with medical advice all leading to more frequent exacerbations of asthma. Potential risk factors such as exposure to second hand smoke and air pollution were not studied as there was not data available.
Most of the identified risk factors were modifiable, meaning it it possible to decrease risk of ACOS in asthmatic women, with the first step in developing prevention strategies being those that lead to a healthy active lifestyle.
