Government urged to have COPD program

SEOUL – A lung expert has asked the Philippine government to come up with a comprehensive program on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), saying cases are not only rising now but sufferers may also get younger in the future.

Dr. Teresita de Guia, head of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Philippine Heart Center, said there is no program in the country that specifically targets COPD despite the huge impact that it poses on the economy and on a sufferer due lost work productivity and health expenditures.

“Awareness about COPD is very low in the Philippines. But with what happened to Dolphy, many people are becoming interested. We have been receiving many inquiries both from our patients and from others who are curious about COPD,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of a press conference organized here by Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd.

De Guia was referring to Filipino comedian Dolphy who has been suffering from COPD for a long time now. He has been in critical condition at the intensive care unit of the Makati Medical Center after suffering from pneumonia.

De Guia said the primary cause of COPD is smoking and with the rising number of Filipinos who now puff cigarettes, it is likely for COPD cases to increase in the Philippines.

And since those who get hooked to smoking are getting younger, she warned, COPD sufferers may also get younger.

“Genetic disposition has something to do if a person develops COPD at a young age. But the problems can be aggravated if you smoke,” she said.

The rise in COPD cases was also observed in neighboring countries in the “Epidemiology and Impact of COPD in Asia (EPIC)” survey conducted by Takeda.

The survey, the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific, involved more than 100,000 households in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, which accounted for 13,925 of respondents.

The survey underscored the need to give proper treatment and management to COPD patients as many of the respondents have reported suffering lung attacks or exacerbation, hampering their work.

Takeda has introduced the first oral anti-inflammatory treatment developed specifically for COPD.

The medicine can inhibit phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE-4) to prevent inflammation in the airways, thus reducing exacerbation and improving the lung function when it is added to long acting bronchodilators.

De Guia said the Philippine government should come up with programs to prevent COPD, and underscored the need for a stricter anti-tobacco campaign in the country.

She added there is also a need for a program for the management of COPD among those who already have the illness.