adult screening programme

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COPD

This recommendation has been archived and is no longer regularly reviewed by the UK NSC.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung diseases. People with COPD struggle to breathe as their airways have narrowed. Symptoms include having a persistent cough and chest infections.

Read more about COPD on the NHS website.

After reviewing the evidence on population screening for COPD on several occasions, the UK NSC decided to archive this topic.

The UK NSC will reopen this topic if new evidence becomes available that is likely to have a significant effect on the recommendation. Stakeholders can also submit an open call proposal for the UK NSC to reopen this topic if new evidence becomes available.

Screening for COPD is not recommended because:

• there is little robust evidence that population screening for COPD improves health outcomes, helps people live longer, or improves quality of life; further evidence review is unlikely to change this conclusion

• the evidence is inconsistent on whether feedback on lung function assessment helps people stop smoking and is unlikely to support a recommendation for population screening for COPD

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