Highlights
- Young COPD, defined by spirometric airflow obstruction with symptoms or significant smoking history, affects 4.5% of adults under 50 in the US.
- Diagnosis in this age group is associated with higher premature mortality, chronic lower respiratory disease events, and heart failure.
- Individuals with isolated airflow obstruction without symptoms or significant smoking do not share these risks.
- Early identification may enable preventive and therapeutic strategies to alter the disease trajectory.
Study Background and Disease Burden
