• Juan Pablo de Torres Tajes and Ciro Casanova Macario.
• Servicio de Neumología, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, España. Jupa65@hotmail.com
• Arch. Bronconeumol. 2010 Jan 1;46 Suppl 3:23-7.

AbstractThe prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing worldwide, mainly due to the increase in women. In developed countries, COPD in women is mainly a result of exposure to tobacco smoke and in developing countries to inhalation of biomass combustion products. Underdiagnosis of COPD is more common in women since this disease has classically been associated with men. Moreover, COPD in women shows certain differential features, such as a greater expression of aspects related to perception (dyspnea and health-related quality of life), a high prevalence of malnutrition, anxiety and depression, and a distinct distribution of emphysema from that in men. Better phenotypical characterization of COPD in women would allow its impact on the health system to be more accurately evaluated and more individualized therapeutic strategies to be designed.Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

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