What Causes COPD?
Smoking Is the Most Common Cause of COPD
Most cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) develop after repeatedly breathing in fumes and other things that
irritate and damage the lungs and airways. Cigarette smoking is the most common
irritant that causes COPD. Pipe, cigar, and other types of tobacco smoke can
also cause COPD, especially if the smoke is inhaled. Breathing in other fumes
and dusts over a long period of time may also cause COPD. The lungs and airways
are highly sensitive to these irritants. They cause the airways to become
inflamed and narrowed, and they destroy the elastic fibers that allow the lung
to stretch and then return to its resting shape. This makes breathing air in
and out of the lungs more difficult.
Other things that may irritate the lungs and
contribute to COPD include:
- Working around certain kinds of chemicals and
breathing in the fumes for many years
- Working in a dusty area over many years
- Heavy exposure to air pollution
Being around secondhand smoke (smoke in the air from
other people smoking cigarettes) also plays a role in an individual developing
COPD.
Genestiny bits of information in your body
cells passed on by your parentsmay play a role in developing COPD. In
rare cases, COPD is caused by a gene-related disorder called
alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency. Alpha 1 antitrypsin
(an-te-TRIP-sin) is a protein in your blood that inactivates destructive
proteins. People with antitrypsin deficiency have low levels of alpha 1
antitrypsin; the imbalance of proteins leads to the destruction of the lungs
and COPD. If people with this condition smoke, the disease progresses more
rapidly. |