( A new study has shown that among patien...)Women Are More Likely To Die Than Men When On Oxygen Therapy ,Health

A new study has shown that among patients on long-term oxygen therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), women are more likely to die from the disease than men.//

The new study that is to appear in the first issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society, this month, was conducted by Maria-Christina L. Machado, M.D., Ph.D., of the State Public Hospital of S?o Paulo in Brazil, and seven associates. The researchers explained to have conducted their study by assessing 435 oxygen-dependent patients with COPD. They explained to have observed over a 7-year period 184 women and 251 men in their group who were on a long-term oxygen therapy.

After considering such factors as age, pack-years smoked, lung function test results and weight, investigators found females to be at a significantly higher risk for death from the disease.

“We found that women had a 54 percent increase in the risk of death after initiating long-term oxygen therapy compared with the men,” said Dr. Machado.

The primary risk factor for developing COPD is smoking. The illness is characterized by chronic bronchitis and severe emphysema, which frequently co-exist, obstructing airflow to the lungs and interfering with normal breathing.

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., and the fifth in Brazil. In 2002, 10.7 million U.S. adults were estimated to have this debilitating disease. In 2004, the cost to the nation for COPD was $37.2 billion in direct and indirect health care costs.

“The only therapeutic regimen that has been shown to improve life expectancy in these patients is oxygen therapy,” said Dr. Machado. “Interestingly, we found that men and women exhibited similar survival rates during the initial follow-up period. Differences in survival became more apparent only after three years of follow-up. The clinical management for COPD fo
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