In Spain, approximately 3 million people suffer from COPD, 11.8% of the population over 40 years of age. It is a highly disabling disease, which is the fourth leading cause of death in our country.
One of the main challenges it poses is its high rates of underdiagnosis -74.7%-, which delays treatment and makes it difficult to control the disease. This is added to the low therapeutic adherence that patients present, which gives rise to an increase in exacerbations, hospitalizations and the risk of mortality.
“It is the patients themselves who are first affected by poor control of the pathology, since it undergoes a worse evolution, a faster progression and, therefore, leads to a worse condition and quality of life,” he explains. Mariano Pastorpresident of the Spanish Federation of Associations of allergic patients and patients with respiratory diseases (Fenaer).
This poor control also implies a greater use of health resources. We know that, each year, more than 98,500 hospitalizations and between 100,000 and 150,000 temporary sick leaves are registered due to this disease, which is also responsible for between 5% and 10% of permanent disabilities in Spain. Furthermore, their exacerbations 10% of all medical hospital admissions in our country. In this regard, Mariano Pastor adds that “these data are more than enough to justify that attention to this pathology should become a priority for our Health System.”
It is the patients themselves who are first affected by poor control of the pathology, since it undergoes a worse evolution, a faster progression and, therefore, leads to a worse condition and quality of life.
Mariano Pastor
President Fenaer
For its part, Martha Moreno, Director of Corporate Affairs and Market Access at AstraZeneca Spain, explains that the company’s strategy in this regard is “close collaboration with all those involved in dealing with COPD, from patient associations and scientific societies, to medical professionals , health institutions or political decision makers. We all have a common goal: to promote good control of the disease, since we are fully aware that this will have a positive impact on both the quality of life of patients and the efficiency of our health system.”
Promotion of a Strategy for the Care of Respiratory Diseases in the National Health System (SNS)
Despite the high prevalence and mortality rates of COPD, there is still a long way to go for optimal control. «Of course, there is a part of responsibility on the part of the patients, especially with regard to self-care: follow the doctor’s instructions regarding treatment, physical activity or diet, keep track of the evolution and incidents, or using inhalers correctly are just a few examples of what the patient can do to improve control of their disease».
But, in addition, the president of Fenaer highlights the need, on the one hand, to establish the protocols and resources necessary to achieve early diagnoses. And, on the other hand, managing the disease with greater coordination between the different levels of care and from a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective: “It is urgent to establish a specific protocol for the diagnosis of COPD, which includes measures such as spirometry to detect early in people at risk. In addition, -he adds- the collaboration of all the agents involved in the management of COPD must engage patients so that they take responsibility for the management of their pathology and that the health authorities listen more to their voice when designing and implementing strategies for the management of this disease».
We all have a common goal: to promote good control of the disease, since we are fully aware that this will have a positive impact on both the quality of life of patients and the efficiency of our health system.
Martha Moreno
Director of Corporate Affairs and Market Access of AstraZeneca Spain
For Pastor, a good starting point would be updating the National COPD Strategy, which dates back to 2014 and “whose implementation has only been moderate. So much so, that there has been an increase in underdiagnosis rates.”
In this sense, AstraZeneca is working to promote a Strategy for Care of Respiratory Diseases in the SNS that updates and integrates the 2014 COPD strategy, and provides the comprehensive vision and approach that respiratory diseases require due to their healthcare, family, social and economic burden. As detailed by Moreno, for the company this contribution is in line with its “strong commitment to excellence in the care of respiratory diseases. We have more than fifty years of experience in this and we must continue working to promote joint action plans and strategies to deal with these pathologies that affect almost 550 million people around the world.”
More awareness to advance COPD
Making a public health problem such as COPD visible, raising awareness about it and the importance of its prevention are fundamental pillars to end the population’s ignorance and increase its early diagnosis and thus tackle the problems associated with the pathology.
Mariano Pastor assures that “society is still not aware of what COPD is or what it means to suffer from it. Both the institutions and the patient associations carry out extremely important work in this area by carrying out information and awareness actions that are absolutely necessary for the population to know that it is a preventable disease».
“Making COPD visible, with awareness campaigns that show problems and real patients and put an end to ignorance about the disease, is one of our hallmarks as a company. An example of this are our portals with verified and truthful information ‘In COPD zero counts’ and ‘In Asthma zero counts’. With this, we hope to generate understanding and empathy towards your patients, which will not only contribute to improving their quality of life, but also to have more support to make the necessary progress», concludes Marta Moreno.