Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

🔬Causes & Risk Factors

• 1Most commonly caused by long-term exposure to lung-damaging irritants
• 2particularly cigarette smoking
• 3but also including indoor air pollution from cooking with biomass fuels such as wood or dung in poorly ventilated homes
• 4a significant contributor in India especially among women. Occupational exposure to dust
• 5chemicals
• 6and fumes
• 7along with outdoor air pollution
• 8also contribute to disease development. A rare genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency can cause COPD even without significant exposure to irritants.