Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive condition in which the airways and lung tissue are permanently damaged, making it increasingly difficult to breathe out fully — a deficit measured clinically through spirometry, which tracks how much air a person can expel and how fast. It ranks among the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, driven primarily by cigarette smoke and air pollution, and its burden falls disproportionately on low- and middle-income countries where diagnosis often comes late. Researchers are working to better understand why some patients experience frequent acute exacerbations — sudden worsening episodes that accelerate lung decline and drive most hospitalizations — while others with comparable lung function do not, and what role systemic inflammation and cardiovascular or metabolic comorbidities play in overall mortality. Standardizing spirometry criteria, refining treatment guidelines, and identifying earlier biological markers of disease progression remain central open problems in the field.

Works

171,627

Total citations

2,311,366

Keywords

COPDspirometrylung functionpulmonary diseaseglobal burdenrespiratory