Why women with COPD are being left behind

WOMEN with COPD get a bum deal, partly because many doctors see it as a disease of ageing male smokers, researchers suggest.

A literature review reveals women are more likely to get a delayed diagnosis, are less successful in quitting smoking, get overlooked in drug trials and are more likely than men to end up in hospital and to die if they develop COPD.

Professor Christine Jenkins, from the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, and international colleagues, say there’s evidence that, for a given level of risk exposure, women are more susceptible to developing COPD