Facts and Figures

• Around 900,000 people in the UK suffer from COPD, that’s 1.5 per cent of the population, and the true figure may be nearer to 1.5 million because many people are undiagnosed.

• About 25,000 people in the UK die each year from this serious lung disease. More than 8 in 10 of these deaths are directly linked to smoking. People who die of COPD are usually quite unwell for several years before they die.

• For both men and women, the top three contributors to Sheffield’s 10.4 year gap in life expectancy gap are Coronary Heart Disease, lung cancer and COPD.

• There are over 9,500 registered COPD patients in Sheffield, and it is possible that half as many again are living with the disease without it having been diagnosed.

  Despite the gloomy statistics, there’s a lot that can be done for people with COPD and a lot they can do.