Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A challenge in the new millennium.

Abstract

We carry out a short revision of the most relevant epidemiologic and statistic data on the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease managed nowadays, leading all the doctors working on this disease to thinking about it, because its prevalence is increasing and it is accepted that it is the most unknown disease, being diagnosed only in 20 % of the cases. It is expected a frequency increase in the next decade because of its relation with the habit of smoking, having into account that the World Health Organization has estimated that there are 1 000 000 of smokers in the world today and there will be 1 690 000 in 2025. Currently conceptions on the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease consider it as a disease with a systemic repercussion, because of the enormous economic and social repercussion of this disease, causing 3 000 000 deceases in the world now; it is estimated that it will be the third cause of death in 2020. We alert on the necessity of thinking about what is happening with this illness and of aiming the future work to the diminishing of its sanitary and economic repercussions and its lethal effects on the life quality of these patients. To achieve that it is necessary an early diagnose at the primary care level with a larger use of the spirometry at this level.