Report Reveals True Cost of Lung Disease

A Heavy Toll: Canadian Thoracic Society Report Reveals True Cost of Lung Disease Many Canadians unaware of heavy price of COPD on patients and the healthcare system


A review of Canadian data by the nation's leading lung specialists has provided the factual evidence to support what respirologists across the country have been suspecting for some time. Shockingly, more people are being admitted to Canadian hospitals each year with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than any other major chronic illness (including heart attacks) and that number has been increasing dramatically in recent years.(i)

A new report released today by the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS), entitled The Human and Economic Burden of COPD: A Leading Cause of Hospital Admission in Canada, is timely given the annual spike in hospitalizations due to lung infections each winter.

"Anecdotally, we've known for some time that we're seeing a lot of COPD patients being admitted to our hospitals," says Dr. Darcy Marciniuk, Chair, Canadian Thoracic Society COPD Committee and Respirologist at the University of Saskatchewan. "Perhaps what's most concerning, is that the report shows patients frequently being admitted more than once. In fact, 18 per cent were admitted twice, and a further 14 per cent were admitted at least three times within the same year."(i)


A serious threat


COPD affects both men and women, is growing in prevalence - the only leading cause of death to do so - and is now the fourth leading cause of death in Canada.(ii),(iii) It is a progressive lung disease that, over time, makes it hard to breathe. A person with COPD can experience a flare-up or exacerbation of their symptoms caused by everyday things as simple as catching a cold or flu, or going outside on a very cold day.

"What many people don't realize is that COPD flare-ups can be very serious - leading to hospitalization and even death. I refer to flare-ups as 'lung attacks' because like the effect a heart attack has on the heart, a COPD lung attack causes significant and lasting damage to the lungs," says Dr. Jean Bourbeau, Respirologist and Director of Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit at the Montreal Chest Institute, Quebec.


Weighing the human and financial burden


Once someone is admitted to the hospital for a COPD lung attack, they spend an average of 10 days there, with an average cost of $10,000 per stay.(iv) In fact, COPD lung attacks are the most costly of all reasons for hospitalization, and COPD as a whole could cost the Canadian healthcare system as much as $1.5 billion per year, according to recent estimates.(iv)