What is COPD?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of chronic, inflammatory lung diseases that cause problems with breathing. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In 2018, chronic lower respiratory disease, which includes COPD, was the 4th leading cause of death but only 6.4% of Americans reported having a diagnosis of COPD.

Symptoms of COPD include things like frequent coughing or wheezing, excess phlegm or mucus production, shortness of breath, and having a hard time taking deep breaths. Having COPD may make it more likely that an individual will also have activity limitations, need special medical equipment, have more emergency room visits or overnight hospital stays, have other chronic diseases, have depression or other mental conditions, or report a fair or poor health status.

It is believed that COPD is caused by a combination of environmental factors, genetic factors, and respiratory infections. In the United States, tobacco smoke is a main factor in the development of COPD, but being exposed to air pollutants also plays an important role. Recent data has shown that rural populations are more likely to be diagnosed with COPD than urban populations. Possible reasons for this observation are higher rates of smoking among rural populations, less access to smoking cessation programs, and that rural residents are more likely to be uninsured which may make it difficult to diagnose and treat the disease early. There is no cure for COPD, but it can be found early. With treatment and management, many people are able to live with their disease for years.

Visit the Health Toolkit for a COPD Action and Management Plan.

COPD in Our Community:

The darker color on the interactive maps indicates worse outcomes.

Roughly 7,200 or 7% of Taylor County’s residents reported having COPD in 2018. This is higher than the 6.2% of Texas residents who reported having COPD in 2018. In 2019, the percent of Taylor County residents who reported having COPD decreased to 6.3% which is about 6,540 people. 

The zip code in Taylor County with the highest percent of residents with COPD in 2018 was 79561. Nine percent of residents in this zip code reported being diagnosed with COPD. Only 2.5% of residents in the Taylor County zip code of 79607 reported having COPD.