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Business Standard
22-05-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
Cooking fumes and cosmetics may be raising women's risk of lung disease
Women over 40 face a higher risk of chronic lung disease, possibly due to indoor pollution, hormonal shifts, and misdiagnosis - not just smoking New Delhi You don't need to smoke to be at risk for serious lung disease — especially if you're a woman over 40. We often associate lung diseases with older men who've smoked for years. But opposed to this popular belief, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe, isn't just a smoker's disease, and it's definitely not just a 'man's problem.' A new study published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research has found that women aged 40 and above are at a significantly higher risk of developing COPD compared to men, even if they've never touched a cigarette. That means everyday things you might overlook, like cooking fumes, cleaning sprays, or even cosmetics, could be silently damaging your lungs. What did the study find about women and lung disease? The study titled Gender, tobacco and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: analysis of the 2020 National Health Interview Survey looked at the health data from over 23,000 adults aged 40 and above and found that women are had about a 50 per cent higher risk of lung disease. Among people who had never smoked, 3.2 per cent of women had COPD, compared to just 1.7 per cent of men. And even among smokers, women were still more likely to develop the disease. This suggests that something other than smoking is affecting women's lung health — and it may be more common than we realise. Does tobacco affect men and women differently? Not exactly. The study found no biological evidence that women are more vulnerable to smoking-related lung damage. What could explain higher COPD rates among women? While the study doesn't pin down a specific cause, it raises a few possible contributing factors: Indoor air pollution from cooking fumes, household cleaners, or beauty products Jobs in cleaning, caregiving, or hospitality where exposure to fumes or dust is common Smaller lungs and airways, which may be more sensitive to damage Hormonal changes, like menopause or multiple pregnancies, which could affect lung function Medical misdiagnosis — doctors often don't expect to see COPD in women, especially non-smokers According to the study, these risks can go unnoticed, making it harder for women to get diagnosed early. What are the signs of COPD you should watch for? COPD makes it harder to breathe. Symptoms may include: A persistent cough Wheezing or shortness of breath Feeling tired or winded doing normal activities Frequent chest infections If you're over 40 and have any of these symptoms — even if you've never smoked — it's important to talk to your doctor. Why should women pay attention to chronic lung symptoms after 40? The study highlights that many women are diagnosed late, or not at all, because doctors often don't consider lung disease in non-smoking women. By the time symptoms get worse, the condition may already be serious. Getting a simple lung function test early could help catch COPD sooner, when it's easier to manage and treat. What can you do to protect your lungs? Avoid long exposure to indoor fumes — use exhaust fans or ventilate well when cooking or cleaning Wear a mask in dusty or chemical-heavy environments Stay up to date with check-ups, especially if you've had breathing problems or are over 40 Don't ignore persistent cough, breathlessness, or fatigue — even if you think it's 'just age' You don't have to be a smoker to develop lung problems, and you don't have to wait for symptoms to get worse before doing something about it. If you're a woman over 40, your lungs might need more care than you realise. For more health updates, follow #HealthWithBS
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Smoking doesn't explain greater COPD risk for women
May 9 (UPI) -- Smoking can't explain why women are more at risk for COPD, a new study says. Women are about 50% more likely than men to develop COPD even though they are less likely to smoke, researchers reported Thursday in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research. Smoking tobacco is the main cause of COPD, the umbrella term for chronic breathing problems like emphysema and bronchitis, researchers say. But the COPD rate is higher among women than men, even though women don't smoke as much as men, results show. The results refute the notion that women are more vulnerable to tobacco smoke than men, which had previously been floated to explain why more women suffer COPD, researchers said. "The higher risk of COPD in women was not explained by higher susceptibility to cigarette smoke as measured by either smoking status or pack-year exposure," wrote a team led by Dr. Alexander Steinberg, an assistant professor of clinical practice at the University of Washington in Seattle. "In fact, women had a nearly identical increase in risk of COPD for every 10 pack-years of cigarette use when compared with men," researchers wrote. Pack-years measure how much a person has smoked by multiplying the packs smoked per day by the number of years a person has smoked. "This then begs the important question of what is driving high rates of COPD among women," researchers added. For the study, they analyzed responses from more than 12,600 women and nearly 10,400 men 40 and older who participated in the National Health Interview Survey, an annual poll conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track American health. Women were less likely to be current or former smokers than men, and those who did smoke tended to burn through fewer cigarettes per day than men, researchers found. Women also were more likely to have smoked for fewer years, and less likely to have started smoking younger than 15. Nevertheless, just under 8% of women suffered from COPD compared to about 6.5% for men, results showed. Women with COPD were more likely to have never smoked cigarettes than men with the condition, nearly 27% compared with just over 14%, researchers found. They also were less likely to use other tobacco products except for e-cigarettes, nearly 27% compared with 20%, the study says. Overall, women had a 47% higher risk of being diagnosed with COPD than men, after accounting for other risk factors, researchers concluded. This gender difference persisted regardless of smoking history. Women who never smoked were 62% more likely to be diagnosed with COPD than men, and those who had ever smoked were 43% more likely, results show. Several theories might explain why women are more at risk for COPD even though they don't smoke as much as men, researchers said. "Studies have suggested that increased inhalation exposure from traditionally female-predominated occupations, home heating and cooking, aerosolized hair and beauty products and household cleaning products may contribute to higher rates of COPD in women," researchers wrote. Women also tend to have smaller airways than men, which might make them more susceptible to breathing problems, researchers noted. "Our research raises uncertainty about the common assumption that increased vulnerability to cigarette smoke is driving the gender divide in COPD," researchers concluded. More information Cleveland Clinic has more about COPD. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
