Women & lung Disease
Lung or respiratory disease refers to disorders that impact the lungs, the organs we use to breathe. Lung disease is a major health concern across the U.S., particularly among women.
Nearly 21 million women in the U.S. are living with lung disease today. Millions more have early symptoms that haven't been diagnosed.
Today, the number of women being diagnosed with lung disease is on the rise; women are more likely to experience severe symptoms of some lung diseases; and more women are dying from lung disease than men.
Asthma Facts
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Nearly 13 million women in the U.S. live with asthma – accounting for 63 percent of all adults with asthma.
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Two-thirds of all asthma deaths in the U.S. are among women.
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Changing hormone levels, allergies or even illness can cause asthma at any age.
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Women are more likely to have severe asthma than men.
Erica K.
Her adult asthma story >>
I always thought asthma was a childhood disease, but my first asthma attack left me gasping for breath at 31. I was shocked to learn asthma can happen at any age, and women face extra challenges.
COPD Facts
A COPD flare-up can stop you in your tracks, no matter what you have planned. It's hard to keep up, and every cold can be life-threatening.
- Gertte S.
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An estimated 7 million U.S. women are living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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Millions more have early symptoms but don’t know it yet.
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While smoking is a common cause of COPD, there are other risk factors including genetics and exposure to chemicals and pollutants.
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10-20% of COPD patients have never smoked.
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Today, more women die of COPD each year than men.
Lung Cancer Facts
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An average of 173 women die each day of lung cancer, one every 8 minutes.
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women.
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More women die from lung cancer than breast and ovarian cancers combined. 63,000 women died of lung cancer in 2020.
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Over 130,000 women who never smoked were diagnosed with lung cancer in the past 7 years.
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Lung cancer receives 3-7 times less federal research funding per death than other well-known cancers.
Rebecca W.
Her lung cancer story >>
My lung cancer diagnosis was a total shock. I'm young. I don't smoke. When it happened, life as I knew it stopped.