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To conclude, it is not easy to predict the life expectancy of a COPD patient, who falls under a particular stage, unless all other factors like age, gender, height, weight, mode of treatment, health condition, and lifestyle changes (like cessation of smoking) are taken into consideration. In general, we can say that the life expectancy decreases, as the degree of severity of the disease increases. Life expectancy of those with mild COPD could be higher than those with moderate and severe condition. However, there are many instances wherein those in the severe category lived much longer than expected. Effective treatment during the early stages could be one of the factors, which can increase life expectancy of COPD patients.

WARNING: Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are inhaling many of the same cancer-causing substances and poisons as smokers. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20'"30 percent.

In general, a cough becomes chronic when it lasts longer than 3 weeks. By then, the patient is likely to have consulted a number of family doctors and eventually ended up seeing a specialist.

As I noted above, in some people, depression can cause a loss of appetite. They seem to just lose interest in everything they usually find enjoyable, including food. The clinical name for this is anhedonia or lack of interest in enjoyable things.

Due to the damage to the walls and elastic fibers, the amount of amount of air inhaled is less and therefore, less oxygen reaches the lungs. Due to the damage to the elastic fibers, the patient will have to force air out of the lungs while exhalation and that leads to shortness of breath. This damage to the alveolar walls can be caused due to smoking, airway reactivity and the deficiency of an enzyme called alpha-1-antitrypsin. Tobacco smoke paralyzes the cilia that line the bronchial tube and thus allow germs to enter the alveoli. This causes inflammation of lung tissue and damage to the elastic fibers.

Smoking is considered as the number one cause of all respiratory diseases. Nearly 82% of the respiratory diseases are caused due to cigarette smoking.

The leading cause of COPD is smoking. The longer a person smokes, the greater the chance they have of developing COPD. However, some longtime smokers never develop the disease.

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