A new report looking at each state’s rates of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, better known as COPD, shows New Mexico has seen some of the biggest decreases in the nation over a five-year period.
The report compares COPD rates from 2018 and 2023, breaking down data from America’s Health Rankings. New Mexico saw the third largest drop overall with a difference of more than 20%, and the highest drop in men’s rates, with a difference of more than 28%.
The overall rate for COPD in the Land of Enchantment was listed as just over 6.3% of the population in 2018, and 5% in 2023.
Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UNM, Dr. Elyce Sheehan, says while the data is encouraging, she’s cautious about taking the numbers at face value. She says the overall rates of COPD across the country have stayed relatively stable, with other states’ rates increasing within that same time period.
“That being said, when you look at certain states in particular, you have seen a decrease,” she said, “and New Mexico is one of those places”
She credits part of that decrease to lower smoking rates, which are the leading cause of COPD according to the World Health Organization, as well as regulations reducing second-hand smoke exposure, but says that an increase in vaping could present problems in the future.
“I think that's a really concerning trend. We've seen an increase, especially with youth, in e-cigarette use and vaping,” she said, “and that certainly can contribute to diseases like COPD and worsening asthma and other lung diseases.”
Greater societal awareness of environmental exposure hazards, like dust, fumes, molds and dangerous particulate matter also helps reduce rates, with more people wearing personal protective equipment like respirators. At the same time, she said increasing wildfires brought on by climate change could pose an increased risk.
“So I think there are good things happening,” she said. “But then there are other things that we're going to have to be aware of in the future that are absolutely going to impact COPD and other chronic lung diseases”
COPD prevents airflow to the lungs, making breathing harder. Sheehan said COPD is a spectrum disorder that can present with more bronchitis symptoms, or with more emphysema symptoms, and sometimes with both.
“There's a lot of people that think that emphysema and COPD are different, and they're really not,” she said. “Emphysema is sort of part of the spectrum of COPD”
While COPD is typically brought on by external factors, there is a genetic component that can be tested for. People with lower levels of alpha-1 antitrypsin are more likely to develop the disease. She says it’s something she gets tested in all of her COPD patients.
“I actually always get an alpha-1 antitrypsin level, because I think it's under-recognized,” she said. “In fact, I know it's under-recognized.”
It usually comes on later in life, she said, even in people who used to smoke but quit years before the disease’s onset. It affects every aspect of daily life, especially for people with more severe forms of the disease.
“They have to think about getting dressed in the morning. They have to think about ‘how much oxygen am I going to need if I'm going to leave the house to go grocery shopping?’” she said. “It's one of those things that is constantly on their minds.”
COPD can’t be cured but it can be managed, and she said people can take steps when they’re young to reduce the extent of the disease, by eating right, exercising, and limiting environmental exposure, especially by quitting smoking and vaping.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
