What increases my risk for emphysema?
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The number one risk factor in developing emphysema is smoking. You can greatly reduce your risk of developing the disease if you quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. If you are a smoker, your risk increases with age. The older you are and the longer you've smoked, the more likely you are to develop emphysema. Smokers who are infected with HIV are at a higher risk as well. The environment you live and work in may also increase your risk for emphysema. If you have a job that requires exposure to dangerous airborne chemicals, you have a higher chance of developing the disease. The same can be said for those who live in an area with high amounts of air pollution. Conditions that damage connective tissue, such as Marfan syndrome, may increase your risk as well.
The number one risk factor in developing emphysema is smoking. You can greatly reduce your risk of developing the disease if you quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. If you are a smoker, your risk increases with age. The older you are and the... More -
The following increase your risk for emphysema:
- Smoking: The single greatest risk factor for emphysema is smoking. Emphysema is most likely to develop in cigarette smokers, but cigar and pipe smokers and marijuana smokers also are susceptible, and the risk for all types of smokers increases with the number of years and amount smoked. Men are affected more often than women are, but this statistic is changing as more women take up smoking.
- Age: Although the lung damage that occurs in emphysema develops gradually, most people with tobacco-related emphysema begin to experience symptoms of the disease between the ages of 50-60.
- Exposure to secondhand smoke: Secondhand smoke, also known as passive or environmental tobacco smoke, is smoke that is inadvertently inhaled from someone else's cigarette, pipe or cigar.
- Pollution and chemical exposure: An individual breathing fumes from certain chemicals such as chlorine or pesticides, dust from grain, cotton, wood, or working around toxic fumes, is more likely to develop emphysema. The risk is even greater if the person smokes. Breathing indoor pollutants such as fumes from heating fuel as well as outdoor pollutants such as car exhaust, increases the risk of emphysema.
- Heredity: A rare, inherited deficiency of the protein, alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAt), can cause emphysema, especially before age 50, and even earlier if the individual smokes.
- Connective tissue disorders: Some conditions that affect connective tissue (provides body framework and support) are associated with emphysema. These conditions include cutis laxa (a rare disease that causes premature aging) and Marfan syndrome (a disorder that affects many different organs, especially the heart, eyes, skeleton and lungs).
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The following increase your risk for emphysema: Smoking: The single greatest risk factor for emphysema is smoking. Emphysema is most likely to develop in cigarette smokers, but cigar and pipe smokers and marijuana smokers also are susceptible,... More
