Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in San Marino, ISS and the Health Secretariat invite citizens to prevention
“Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a disease involving the respiratory system and represents an important public health problem, being one of the major causes of chronic mortality worldwide. However, it is a preventable and treatable disease.
they say theSocial Security Institute and the Ministry of State for Healthemphasizing in a joint note that the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is “widespread in the adult population: in Italy it has a prevalence of 5.5% and mostly affects men, where it can reach rates of 20% in people over 60”, while “in the Republic of San Marino the data current ones indicate a specificity lower than the Italian one, nevertheless a specific Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Plan has been commissioned for taking charge of patients suffering from this pathology”.
In fact, it is of fundamental importance to properly raise awareness among the population in recognizing the symptoms of the disease, which must always be taken into consideration in subjects with dyspnoea (difficulty breathing), chronic cough or expectoration or a history of exposure to risk factors for illness, such as cigarette smoke in primis – guaranteed by the ISS and the Health Secretariat -. In the event of such symptoms, the indication is to contact your general practitioner, who will then – after clinical evaluation – schedule a specialist visit to the Functional Pulmonary Module with spirometry, a key test in order to diagnose Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ” .
On the occasion of the World Day against Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, the Secretariat of State for Health and the Institute for Social Security “want to recall the importance of prevention as the main tool to avoid the onset of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease”.
And again: “Prevention means reducing or better yet eliminating modifiable risk factors and in particular: not smoking or quitting smoking before it is too late, possibly with the use of targeted therapies available in the Pulmonary Functional Module, avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke, avoid prolonged exposure in particularly polluted environments, adopt a healthy diet and practice regular physical activity”.
For more information on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, “you can contact the Pulmonary Functional Module by writing an e-mail to [email protected]”.