A NEW study presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2024 highlights the growing disparity in mortality rates for women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), especially those in rural areas. While death rates for men and urban women with COPD are on the decline, rural women are seeing an increase. This national study investigated the environmental, social, and health factors driving this gap, shedding light on the unique vulnerabilities faced by rural women.
Using data from 50,042 women with COPD, researchers found that those living in rural regions exhibited significantly higher levels of social and health vulnerability. They were more likely to live in poverty, have less access to education, suffer from additional health conditions like hypertension and diabetes, and face barriers to health care access. The Environmental Justice Index (EJI), a tool developed by the CDC, was used to assess community-level burdens, showing that rural women consistently scored higher across multiple risk factors compared to their urban counterparts.
The study emphasized that poor internet access, fewer high school diplomas, a greater number of physical disabilities, and a higher prevalence of mobile homes in rural areas are all contributing factors. These disparities are linked to worse health outcomes, including increased COPD complications and mortality.
Lead researchers, Alyssa Anton and Arianne Baldomero, stressed the importance of these findings for developing targeted interventions to address the needs of rural women with COPD and reverse the growing mortality trend.
Reference: Anton A et al. Environmental, social and health disparities between rural and urban women with COPD in a national cohort. CHEST. 2024;166(4):A3810-A3811.
Anaya Malik | AMJ
