Low pay and damp housing driving UK lung disease deaths, study finds

Researchers have found that poorer people are more likely to die from COPD because of damp housing and low pay.

A survey of over 6,000 people living with COPD found that structural inequalities were a factor in whether a patient would survive.

Of the nearly 4,000 people who suffered two or more acute attacks a year, more than half of them earned less than $20,000 a year and a third lived in a damp house.

The research shows that poorer people with COPD are five times more likely to die than wealthier people with the condition.

More than 1.3 million people in the UK are affected by COPD, a group of lung conditions that include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but many more don't know they have it.

Breathlessness, wheezing, and coughing up phlegm are some of the symptoms. COPD is the leading cause of death in the UK.

The mortality rate between the richest and poorest patients with COPD has increased over the last 11 years.

The poor are five times more likely to die with the condition than the rich are.

Some of the most vulnerable people in society are at increased risk of dying from lung disease as a result of inequality.

COPD is one of the biggest health problems in the UK and one of the biggest causes of hospital admissions so failure to deal with this is causing huge problems for the health and social care system.

The research found that people who had two or more COPD exacerbations were more likely to smoke and more likely to have exposure to dust, fumes and chemicals.

According to Asthma + Lung UK, only 25% of people with COPD get proper care. Patients were urged to get a self-management plan, to stop smoking, and to receive a flu and pneumonia jab.