Overview
- Argentina’s EPOC.ar1 study reports about 77% of cases are undiagnosed, prompting recommendations for a funded national program, routine spirometric screening and a national registry.
- The Respiratory Health Initiative highlights gaps in first‑level spirometry and concentrated access to care, urging decentralised pulmonary rehabilitation and stronger tobacco‑cessation efforts.
- Mexico’s IMSS flags biomass exposure as a major risk alongside smoking, estimates 50–80% underdiagnosis, and is reinforcing advanced inhaled therapies with personalized treatment pathways.
- WHO‑linked advocates warn that stigma delays care and suppresses diagnosis, noting rehabilitation transforms outcomes yet reaches only about 3% of patients in the United States.
- Global figures cited in the coverage point to hundreds of millions living with COPD and roughly 3.5 million deaths annually, with the heaviest toll in low‑ and middle‑income countries.