The prevalence in women of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the respiratory diseases associated with smoking is increasing in Spain. Despite this, the underdiagnosis of COPD in our country is higher in the female group, according to what has been warned in Seville Ruth Martinmember of the Respiratory Pathology Group of the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG) within the X Dual Pulmonology Conference, as reported by the medical society itself.
“COPD can be a growing health problem for women as well, and a change in its approach is necessary,” according to Martín, who has analyzed whether COPD presents differences in women compared to menbefore doctors and nursing professionals from all over the country who have met on March 10 and 11 in this SEMG national meeting.
According to recent studies and research released during his presentation, women with COPD have more dyspnoeaworse health-related quality of life (CVRS), further anxiety and depression, worse nutritional status and more osteoporosis. Other differences with respect to men is that women who have the disease have more exacerbations; however, readmissions and mortality are lower in patients with COPD.
COPD is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstruction to the passage of air in the lungs. Symptoms (difficulty breathing, coughing, mucus production, and wheezing) usually do not appear until a significant lung damage and they tend to worsen over time, especially if exposure to the main causative agent (for example, tobacco) continues. Although it is a progressive disease, which worsens over time, it is treatable. With proper management, according to Ruth Martín, “most people can achieve good control of symptoms and quality of life.”
The chronic respiratory patient and gender, expectations and limitations, has been the theme that has focused the magisterial conference of the X Dual Pulmonology Conference taught by Louis Prieto, family doctor and sexologist. Prieto has put on the table the limitations caused by chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD, on the sexual sphere and, consequently, on the quality of life of patients. These pathologies “affect all phases of the sexual response, predominantly desire in women and erectile function in men, but also the orgasmic phase, to a lesser extent.”
The expert has focused on the X Dual Pulmonology Conference on how they affect the sexual and reproductive health respiratory problems, as well as the stress derived from these difficulties in the day to day and the basic activities of the patients.
Scientific content of the sessions
The scientific program that he has prepared for the X Dual Pulmonology Conference for the SEMG Respiratory Pathology Groupwhose responsibility is Juan Antoniohas reviewed, on March 10 and 11 in Seville, the novelties in the characterization of respiratory diseases, the new diagnostic challenges and the personalization of treatments.
The mini-sessions have focused, in an eminently practical way, on topics of interest in the approach to chronic pneumological pathology in the environment of the Primary Care. For example, the reasons to oppose vaping have been delved into; the relationship between COPD and cardiovascular disease and high-risk comorbidity; clinical inertia in chronic respiratory diseases; control strategies in low-risk COPD; the choice of inhaler device to improve therapeutic adherence; double bronchodilation in the treatment of COPD; moderate exacerbations of COPD as a silent enemy and new horizons in pneumococcal vaccination. The Neumotrivial interactive contest has closed this national meeting of the SEMG.
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