Gender Differences in COPD Mortality: A Descriptive Review of the Literature

REVIEW ARTICLE

Juan P de Torres^1, Ciro Casanova² and Bartolome R Celli³

Affiliations: ¹Pulmonary Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; ²Pulmonary Department, Hospital Ntra Sra de Candelaria, Tenerife, Spain; and ³Pulmonary Department, Brigham and Women Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA


ABSTRACT

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be one of the leading causes of death in the near future. Traditionally a disease associated with the male gender; in the last decades COPD has become an increasing problem among women. In the United States as well in other developed countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Finland, the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among women have exceeded those among men. Little is known about gender differences in mortality in COPD patients. Lately, a few studies have challenged the knowledge that women with the disease have a better survival than men. This article intends to review, from a gender perspective, factors affecting COPD survival and the existing literature about gender differences in mortality.

Keywords: gender, COPD, mortality

Correspondence: Juan Pablo de Torres, Pulmonary Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Av Pío XII, 36 CP 31008, Pamplona, Spain. Tel: 0034 948255400; Fax: 0034 296500; e-mail: jupa65@hotmail.com