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25 Jun 2008
An increasing number of people under the age of 30 are being diagnosed with the lung disease emphysema, the British Lung Foundation reports.
Emphysema occurs when the walls of the air sacs which make up the lung are damaged, forcing them to break apart and merge together making holes in the lung. As a result, oxygen is unable to be properly absorbed into the blood in these damaged areas.
Chairman of the foundation Dr Keith Prowse said that young people are at risk of developing the disease as a result of genetic conditions as well as from smoking and recreational drugs, which age the lungs prematurely.
He explained that people with a genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency will develop emphysema earlier in life than they would normally, in their 30s or 40s for non-smokers and from their 20s for those who smoke.
Datamonitor recently reported that alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is prevalent in Western Europe and is one of the most common hereditary diseases among Caucasians.
Experts warn that low physician awareness and a lack of modifying medication have led to many patients being left undiagnosed with the condition.
However, "there is a new treatment presently being trialled which might cure that deficiency, so obviously we hope eventually that it will solve the problem", Dr Prowse revealed.
According to the British Lung Foundation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, kills around 30,000 people in the UK every year – more than breast, prostate or colon cancer.
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