-smoking
-air
pollution
-genetic
susceptibility
Smoking is
the main causative factor of COPD The risk of development of COPD directly
correlates with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the concentration of
nicotine in the cigarettes and the number of years the person is smoking. The passive exposure to cigarette smoke may
contribute to the development of the disease in some patients but the levels of
individual susceptibility may fluctuate depending on the person (Viegi, Scognamiglio, Baldacci, Pistelli, & Carrozzi, 2001, p.4).
The
continuous exposure to dust, fumes, gases and vapors either at home, at work or
in the environment causes the development of COPD The pollutants trigger a
series of events in the body that eventually lead to the development of disease: increased secretion of mucus, inflammation of the airways, goblet cell
metaplasia, bronchial edema, the obstruction of the alveolar lumen etc. (Rennard, 2011, p.1182).
The genetic
susceptibility may be related to the alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency that
inhibits proteases. As a result, more proteolytic enzymes are available, which
eventually facilitates the development of emphysema. Generally, the development
of COPD results from the interplay between genetic and environmental factors (Hongjun, Webb-Robertson, Peterson, Tan, Bigelow, Scholand & Zangar, 2011, p.344).
Other
important causative factors include: bronchial hyperreactivity, lower
respiratory tract infections, alcohol abuse, male gender, age etc (Rennard, 2011, p.1182).
As for the etiology of the exacerbation of COPD, the main causative factors are:
- the viral infections (particularly rhinovirus-associated ones);
- bacterial infections (colonization of the lower airways with Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis species);
- air pollution (increases of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) etc) (Papi, Luppi, Franco & Fabbri, 2006, pp.246-247).
