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Smoker Siblings Of COPD Patients At Significant Risk 

Smoker siblings of patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a significant risk of airflow obstruction, according to an article in the second issue for October of the American Thoracic Society’s (ATS) peer-reviewed journal.

Writing in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, David A. Lomas, Ph.D., of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Cambridge, UK, along with five associates, showed that 44 (34.9 percent) of 126 current or ex-smoking siblings of COPD patients had airflow obstruction in keeping with COPD.

In addition, 36 of the siblings also had forced expiratory volume in 1 second lung function tests of less than 80 percent of the predicted value, which was also in keeping with COPD. . .

“Approximately one-quarter of the siblings who completed the questionnaire and spirometry test were nonsmokers,” said Dr. Lomas. “These siblings had essentially normal lung function. This reinforces the clear message that irreversible airflow obstruction is linked to tobacco smoking.”

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