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Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of COPD) that could possibly cause COPD includes:
The following conditions have been cited in various sources as potentially causal risk factors related to COPD:
Gender of Patients for COPD: More common in men, but women increasing, reflecting smoking patterns....more »
Gender Profile of COPD: Although COPD is still much more common in men than women, the greatest increase in the COPD death rate between... (Source: excerpt from What is COPD: NHLBI) ...more »
To research the causes of COPD, consider researching the causes of these these diseases that may be similar, or associated with COPD:
Causes of Types of COPD: Review the cause informationfor the various types of COPD:
Causes of Broader Categories of COPD: Review the causal information about the various more general categories of medical conditions:
Other conditions that might have COPD as a complication may, potentially, be an underlying cause of COPD. Our database lists the following as having COPD as a complication of that condition:
Causes: COPD:
The number one cause of COPD is smoking. Other contributing factors in its development or exacerbation (increase in severity) of include long-term exposure to other lung irritants, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust. It is also recommended to avoid long-term exposure to second hand smoke. COPD is not infectious and cannot be passed from person to person.
Article excerpts about the
causes of COPD:
When COPD develops, the walls of the small airways and alveoli lose their elasticity. The airway walls thicken, closing off some of the smaller air passages and narrowing larger ones. The passageways also become plugged with mucus. Air continues to get into alveoli when the lung expands during inhalation, but it is often unable to escape during exhalation because the air passages tend to collapse during exhalation, trapping the "stale" air in the lungs. These abnormalities create two serious problems which affect gas exchange:
Pulmonary function studies of large groups of people show that lung function--the ability to move air into and out of the lungs--declines slowly with age even in healthy nonsmokers. Because healthy nonsmokers have excess lung capacity, this gradual loss of function does not lead to any symptoms. In smokers, however, lung function tends to worsen much more rapidly. If a smoker stops smoking before serious COPD develops, the rate at which lung function declines returns to almost normal. Unfortunately, because some lung damage cannot be reversed, pulmonary function is unlikely to return completely to normal. (Source: excerpt from COPD: What Goes Wrong?: NHLBI)
The following medical news items are relevant to causes of COPD:
As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of COPD may be found in:
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