COPD

Produced for:

UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC)

What is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases. In COPD, damage to the air passages in the lungs means that less air can pass into the lungs. The two main diseases covered by COPD are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Together these are the fifth main cause of death in the UK. 

Why do we need this project?

Around 3 million people in the UK have COPD, but around two-thirds of these people may not realise they have it. Smoking tobacco is the main cause of COPD. Screening people for COPD may mean it can be diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage.

This evidence map aims to summarise how much, and what type, of research evidence has been published since the previous UK NSC report in 2018. It assesses two questions: 1) does screening for COPD improve people's health or quality of life or enable them to live longer than people who have not been screened; 2) does screening for COPD make people more likely to give up smoking?

SENSS Team:

Chief Investigator: Dr Katy Cooper, Dr Olena Mandrik

Links:

Protocol

NIHR Project Page

Zenodo Project Page