Health | Lungs
Consider These Five Life Areas to Protect Your Family’s Lung Health
COVID gave us a break, but we should not forget about these vital organs.
Our lungs have been in the COVID spotlight over the last two years, and we all know the reason.
However, as COVID seems to be giving us a break (fingers crossed), we should not forget how crucial these two organs are.
WHO defines Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) as “diseases of the airways and other lung structures, being asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) the most prevalent ones.”
However, we should not forget other lung disorders such as influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and many other breathing problems.
Lung disorders: Numbers on the rise
How do we determine the relevance of this health problem?
A good epidemiologic rule of thumb is to estimate the number of people affected worldwide by any of these conditions, i.e., the prevalence.
Here are some official numbers:
- COPD was the third leading cause of death worldwide in 2019, i.e., before COVID. These absolute numbers have not decreased after the several outbreaks over the last two years.
- COPD mainly affects adults, and it is expected to continue to rise due to population growth, aging, and increasing air pollution.
- In 2020, “overall, prevalent cases of CRDs were 545 million: about 50% for COPD and 50% for asthma.”
- 235 million people suffer from asthma worldwide, a common disease among children.
- Asthma cases increase by 50% every decade — food for thought.
- In North America, 10% of the population have asthma- children and adults. Heads up, Western Countries! This number is a good proxy for you!
I guess no one can deny by now that our lungs have been facing “an epidemic” before, during, and after COVID outbreaks.
Who is to blame?
First, let’s look at asthma:
Though the real cause of asthma is still unknown, asthma among adults seems to be linked to risk factors such as smoking and a high body mass index.
According to the National Health Service England (NHS), many factors can trigger asthma both in children and adults:
💥 Infections like colds and flu
💥A former allergy-related condition
💥 Having a family history of asthma or atopic conditions
💥 Exposure to tobacco smoke as a child
💥Women smoking during pregnancy
💥 Smoke, fumes, and pollution
💥 Medicines– particularly anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen and aspirin
💥 Stress
💥 Mold or dampness
💥 etc.
What about Chronic respiratory diseases (COPD)? They are highly influenced by:
💨 Smoking
💨 Second-hand smoke
💨Particle matter pollution
💨 Occupational exposure to toxic compounds, gases, and fumes
💨Unhealthy lifestyle
💨etc.
Five areas you should consider to prevent the onset of lung diseases or minimize their health consequences
What can you do to prevent or minimize these difficult health conditions?
It depends on each individual case, but there are five areas you can start assessing and accordingly improving:
1. Lifestyle, including smoking- start with the elephant in the room. Ask for help if needed.
2. Physical activity — sedentarism is detrimental to lung health.
3. Work environment — how toxic is it? Smokes, fumes, dust, harmful particle pollution, aerosols…
4. Home environment- check for mold and dust, especially if you have kids with asthma symptoms. It is more common than not!
5. Your diet — our plate is one of the most overlooked aspects of lung health. Nutrition is crucial to supporting the respiratory tract’s proper function and reducing the inflammation associated with any lung disorder.
Due to COVID, the world turned its full attention to lung health over the last two years. Today, even when that “perfect storm” apparently has lessened, we should not forget how to best protect these two crucial organs that keep us and our families connected to life.
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