ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1597793
This article is part of the Research TopicImpact of Environmental Factors on Healthy Aging: Behavioral Pathways and Health OutcomesView all 11 articles
Global Burden of Disease Study on COPD in the Elderly: Comprehensive Analysis of Environmental Factors and Interaction Effects
Provisionally accepted
Yuwei Wang1*
Li Jin1Yuhui Dong2Erche Yang3Xiaoqun Niu4Jianchuan Mao1Chaoqun Yuan1Bo You1Yong Wang1Yanling Chai4*- 1People's Hospital of Yuechi County, Sichuan, China
- 2Bazhong Central Hospital, Bazhong, China
- 3Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture People's Hospital, Dali, China
- 4The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
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Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading global health issue, ranking fourth in mortality in 2021 per GBD 2021, with older adults most at risk due to agingrelated vulnerabilities. Environmental factors like air pollution and temperature extremes are key contributors, with evidence suggesting their interaction worsens COPD. As the elderly population is projected to reach 2.1 billion by 2050, understanding these impacts is vital for public health.Method: Using GBD 2021 data, we analyzed COPD burden in older adults due to air pollution and non-optimal temperature. Joinpoint regression and Bayesian models assessed trends in age-standardized mortality (ASMR) and disability-adjusted life year (ASDR) rates globally, regionally, and nationally. Spearman's correlation evaluated socio-demographic index (SDI) associations, and standardized exposure value (SEV) data examined air pollutiontemperature interactions.Result: Globally, most environmental COPD burdens declined or stabilized, but high temperature burdens rose (AAPC > 0, P < 0.05). By 2015, ambient PM2.5 overtook household air pollution as the top risk, with 2021 ASMR at 76.29 [54.62, 95.48] and ASDR at 1364.67 [981.69, 1687.82] per 100,000. Low-and middle-SDI regions, especially South and East Asia, faced the highest burdens, with rising PM2.5 and ozone impacts. Air pollution and temperature showed synergistic effects, with high temperature strongly correlating with increased PM2.5 and ozone exposure levels, amplifying COPD burden, except for household air pollution.This study reveals shifting COPD burdens, with ambient PM2.5 and high temperatures emerging as key challenges, particularly in lower-SDI areas. Synergistic air pollution-temperature effects highlight the need for integrated policies. These findings support targeted interventions to reduce COPD burden and enhance health equity in aging populations.
Keywords: COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), Elderly, environmental factors, Air Pollution, Non-optimal temperature, Global Burden of Disease (GBD)
Received: 21 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Jin, Dong, Yang, Niu, Mao, Yuan, You, Wang and Chai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yuwei Wang, People's Hospital of Yuechi County, Sichuan, China
Yanling Chai, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan Province, China
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