New research

Breathless on the stairs? Nine in ten with COPD were never told why

Families often blame age or weight when someone stops halfway up the stairs to catch their breath.

The PURE study in Lancet Global Health, October 2026, gave a simple breathing test called spirometry to 1,19,252 adults aged 35 to 70 in 25 countries including India, and about 1 in 10 had narrowed airways, which is COPD.

Nearly 9 in 10 of them had never been diagnosed, yet they still faced a higher risk of death and of chest and heart problems, and the missed ones were often younger, with few symptoms, and many had never smoked.

Do this: if cough, phlegm or breathlessness has lasted for weeks, do not blame age, and ask your doctor about a breathing test.

Source — Lancet Glob Health 2026 (online 2-Oct-2026):104055, PURE investigators, McMaster University, Canada

The information in this issue is for general health awareness. It is not a substitute for your doctor's advice. Before starting any medicine, test or treatment, please see your doctor.

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