EDITORIAL

Respiratory medicine

The role of occupation in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

M Meldrum, R Rawbone, A D Curran and D Fishwick

Health and Safety Laboratory and University of Sheffield, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr D Fishwick
Health and Safety Laboratory and University of Sheffield, Harpur Hill, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK; david.fishwick@hsl.gov.uk

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A discussion of current issues

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Keywords: COPD; health and safety executive; occupation; workplace dust exposure

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.¹ In the UK, COPD is given as the cause of death on about 30 000 death certificates annually.² This represents 5.1% of all deaths. The prevalence of COPD is difficult to determine because the condition does not usually manifest until mid-life, when it is already moderately advanced. In England and Wales, it is estimated that there are currently 900 000 diagnosed cases, and allowing for under-diagnosis the true prevalence is estimated to be 1.5 million.³ The total annual cost to the National Health Service for the treatment of COPD is thought to be £491 652 000 in direct costs, and £982 000 000 including indirect costs, causing 21.9 million working days to be lost in 1994–95 as a result of this condition.

A recent clinical study from the UK noted that in a random sample . . . [Full text of this article]

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