Study estimates 14 pc of adults aged 45 and above may have obstructive lung disease

Over 14 per cent of those aged 45 and above in India could be affected by obstructive lung disease, reveals an analysis by an international team of researchers, including those from Mumbai's International Institute for Population Sciences.

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Over 31,000 adults were administered spirometry — commonly used to test how well one's lungs work — as part of the 'Longitudinal Aging Study in India' (LASI), the country's first and world's largest database of older population recorded over long-term. The findings published in the journal PLOS One show that men could be affected more, compared to women, and the prevalence increased with age.

Obstructive lung disease — of which Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a type — is marked by damage to lungs, causing inflammation and obstructing flow of air.