Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is the second leading cause of mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in India, is still not properly understood in the country. A recent expert study suggested the urgent need for a multicentric national-level research study to understand COPD burden and its contributing risk factors. The findings also suggest the need for a COPD sensitive health literacy program focused on early screening and primary prevention of risk factors for COPD, which may help early initiation of self-management practices that are crucial for better quality of life. 

The prevalence of the disease in India increases with age and exponentially after 30 years of age. The estimated prevalence of COPD ranged from 0.1% to 0.9% between the age group of 5 years to 29 years while the incidence ranged from 1.6% to 28.3% in the population above 30 years of age, according to a recent study published in Journal of Global Health. COPD, which causes about 4 million deaths worldwide, affects the low- and middle-income countries the most as awareness, diagnosis and access to care are still major challenges in these countries. World Health Organisation estimates that over 80 percent of these deaths occurred in poor or developing countries. According to the WHO’s estimates, nearly 65 million people have moderate to severe COPD that accounts for 5% of deaths (41.9 deaths per 100 000 individuals) globally and COPD remained the most prevalent disease-specific chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in 2017. However, as part of the WHO initiative –Rehabilitation 2030 — pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD is included in the Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation.