ESTIMATED figures show the incidence of people aged 15 or over suffering from chronic lung disease on the Island is higher than the average for England.
This is against a background where numbers recorded by GPs have been increasing in recent years from 1,813 in 2005 to 2,093 in 2008.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) is a disease of the lungs whereby inflammation develops and airflow becomes progressively obstructed, causing coughing and breathlessness.
It is caused predominantly by smoking, but occupational exposure to harmful substances can also contribute. It is more commonly seen after the age of 35. World COPD day on Wednesday aimed to raise awareness of the condition.
The estimated rate of COPD on the Island in 2008, among the population aged 15 and over, was 5.4 per cent compared to an estimate for the whole of England of 4.2 per cent. The Island’s estimated rate is higher than England’s, probably because the risk of COPD increases with age and the Island has a proportionately larger percentage of older people in its population.
Compared to the 2,093 Islanders registered with their GP in 2008 as having COPD, it was estimated there were approximately 5,957 people aged over 15 on the Island with the disease.
This means that approximately 70 per cent of Island residents estimated to have COPD, or more than 3,800 people, were either undiagnosed or unrecorded as such by their GP practice.
Since July 2009, some Island pharmacies have been offering free screening for COPD as part of their services.
Reporter: suep@iwcpmail.co.uk