Approved research

The association between sociodemographic variable and disparities in burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in UK

Lay summary

Worldwide, COPD is a major health threat. Our analyses of COPD mortality data from the US National Center for Health Statistics reveal significant inequalities in COPD mortality across age, sex, and racial groups. Disease burden of COPD mortality in the UK remain elusive, particularly at county-level. COPD mortality at county-level level provides important information for the government to formulate timely and effective strategies in reducing burden of COPD. In addition, COPD mortality in the UK will be compared to that in the US based on our analyses of US data. Such comparisons will further highlight important factors contributing to the differential epidemic of COPD. Finally, demographic, behavioral, and geographic factors potentially associated with COPD will be explored, which will shed light on the optimal precision public health strategies aiming at controlling for COPD mortality in the UK.