Belgium currently occupies 31st place in a ranking established by the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, which via a particular index makes it possible to evaluate the way in which the health systems of 34 countries prevent and manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease results from inflammation of the airways. It causes blockage of these pathways as well as lung damage, making it increasingly difficult to breathe over time.
Smoking is the main cause. Around nine out of ten affected patients are smokers or former smokers.
In Belgium, more than 800,000 people suffer from this pathology, half of them without knowing it, indicates the Belgian Lung Foundation (BeLF). COPD is also responsible for 5% of deaths in the country and is the third leading cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
According to the index developed by the independent Danish think tank, Belgium ranks significantly worse than its neighboring countries. It is thus in 31st place in the ranking while France is in 9th, the Netherlands in 18th and Germany in 28th.
In the general ranking, Australia, the United Kingdom and Finland come first. On a European scale, only Lithuania is doing worse than Belgium. As for China and India, they finished far behind.
Belgium’s poor results are partly due to the late diagnosis of patients affected by COPD, according to the Danish institute. But the lack of cooperation between health care providers throughout treatment, the general lack of awareness of the pathology and the insufficient epidemiological data in this area are also pointed out.
In view of the situation, the Belgian Lung Foundation is calling for measures to be put in place. This is necessary on four levels, according to Professor Didier Cataldo, member of the foundation. Awareness must therefore be increased and diagnosis improved, in particular via a wide deployment of spirometry tests (which aims to measure pulmonary functions). In addition, more attention must be paid to prevention and optimization of treatment processes must be implemented.
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