The impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing in US women. In 2008-2010, an estimated 7.9 million US women were living with COPD. Chronic lower respiratory disease was the third leading cause of mortality in 2010 and was a major cause of morbidity. Its economic and social burden is both substantial and increasing in the USA. The annual number of COPD deaths is now higher in women than in men. In 2011, 72,584 women and 65,920 men aged 25 years and over died of COPD. The death rate in African-American women was only half compared with European-American women. Further, rates of COPD prevalence, emergency room visits and hospitalization were greater among women than men. This review reports the latest patterns and trends in several measures of COPD in US women.
Keywords: chronic bronchitis; chronic obstructive; disease frequency; healthcare; pulmonary disease; pulmonary emphysema; surveys.