HR 120 (LSB 6052HH (7) 84)

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 120

BY  L. MILLER

A Resolution recognizing November 2012 as COPD Awareness Month.

   WHEREAS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term used to describe airflow obstruction that is associated mainly with emphysema and chronic bronchitis; and
   WHEREAS, COPD affects an estimated 24 million people and kills more than 120,000 Americans every year, with an average of one person dying from COPD every four minutes, an alarming statistic for a disease many have never heard of; and
   WHEREAS, in 2008 COPD became the third leading cause of death in the United States; and
   WHEREAS, pulmonary experts predict that by the year 2020, COPD will become the leading cause of death worldwide; and
   WHEREAS, COPD currently accounts for 1.5 million emergency department visits, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 8 million physician office and hospital outpatient visits, all of which are a detriment to the U.S. economy, costing the nation an estimated $49.9 billion in direct and indirect medical costs annually; and
   WHEREAS, in 2007 and 2008, 3,452 Iowans 45 years of age and older died from COPD; and
   WHEREAS, between 2006 and 2008, COPD hospitalizations in Iowa rose from a rate of 4.4 per 1,000 to 4.9 per 1,000, with the average hospitalization for COPD costing $12,938, excluding professional fees, in 2008; and
   WHEREAS, the American Lung Association in Iowa is implementing the Iowa COPD Strategic Plan, a statewide effort to increase early detection, improve care and treatment, and prevent and reduce the prevalence of the disease; and
   WHEREAS, research has identified a hereditary protein deficiency called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin which predisposes people to developing COPD, even without exposure to smoking or environmental triggers; and
   WHEREAS, recently the death rate for women with COPD has surpassed the death rate of men with COPD, with women over the age of 40 being the fastest-growing segment of the population developing this irreversible disease, due in large part to the equalization of opportunities for men and women to smoke over the past several generations; and
   WHEREAS, spirometry testing and medical treatments exist to address symptom relief and possibly slow the progression of the disease, but there is currently no cure for COPD; and
   WHEREAS, until there is a cure, the best approaches to preventing COPD and its considerable health, societal, and mortality impacts lie with education, awareness, and expanded delivery of detection and management protocols; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives recognizes the month of November 2012 as COPD Awareness Month in the State of Iowa in recognition of this deadly disease and its effects on the citizens of Iowa.