Annual hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Canada increased 69% since 2002, especially in females and folks under age 65, in accordance with latest research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221051.
COPD affects the lungs and progresses, leading to frequent hospitalization, burdening patients, families and health care systems. It has been viewed as a condition often related to male smokers.
With increasing pressure on Canada’s health systems, it’s crucial to discover gaps in care that result in higher utilization. Hospital admissions for COPD may represent one such area for improvement as, in lots of instances, they may very well be avoided with proper preventive or early therapeutic interventions.”
Dr. Kate Johnson, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences on the University of British Columbia (UBC)
The researchers from UBC, Windfall Health Care Research Institute and St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, checked out national data on hospital admissions in Canada to grasp trends in admissions for COPD. They identified 1 134 359 admissions for COPD in patients aged 40 years and older between 2002 and 2017. Of the overall admissions, 240 611 (21.2%) were for younger adults aged 40–64 years and greater than half of admissions (127 514, 53.0%) on this age group were for females. Over the 16-year study period, the variety of annual hospital admissions for COPD increased by 68.8%, from 52 937 to 89 384.
After adjusting for population growth, age and sex, the hospital admission rate for COPD increased almost 10% (from 437 to 479 per 100 000 people), though admission rates for other health concerns decreased over the identical period. The rise was most pronounced amongst younger females (12.2%), followed by younger males (24.4%) and older females (29.8%), while admissions amongst older males declined (9.0%).
“The variety of hospital admissions for COPD has rapidly increased since 2010 in Canada. Even after adjusting for population growth and aging, COPD admission rates have risen since 2010 in all groups except amongst older males. That is in contrast to declining all-cause admission rates over this era. Our findings call into query whether progress is being made in improving COPD care and outcomes,” conclude the authors.
The authors suggest that numerous aspects may very well be driving the rise, including higher treatments which might be extending the lifespans of patients with COPD, changes within the rates of pneumonia and influenza, and changes to hospital admissions practices. Environmental aspects, similar to changes in exposure to air pollution, wildfire smoke or indoor toxic inhalants, might also be contributing to the rise.
To assist hospitals and policy-makers understand the rates of COPD admissions, the researchers created a Web app.
A related commentary https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230998 emphasizes that the research paper’s findings should sound alarm bells for health systems.
“Because the prevalence of COPD in Canada’s populations rises, so too will the burden on hospitals if a radical change in COPD care will not be implemented,” write Drs. Alina Blazer and Matthew Stanbrook, respirologists on the University of Toronto. “Solutions would require novel and multifactorial approaches to examining emerging risk aspects for COPD, addressing disparities in gender and socioeconomic status, facilitating access to specialist care and investing resources in prevention and rehabilitation. Without sustained and coordinated motion, health systems will proceed to fail patients with COPD in Canada.”
Source:
Canadian Medical Association Journal
Journal reference:
Amegadzie, J. E., et al. (2023) Trends in hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease over 16 years in Canada. Canadian Medical Association Journal. doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.221051.