Study focuses on COPD progression in younger populations

Researchers are exploring how small airway abnormalities in younger smokers could help identify who is at risk of developing COPD and establish how the chronic lung disease progresses, according to a new article. The article is published in the September 2024 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory lung disease, comprising several conditions, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and can be caused by genetics and irritants like smoke and pollution. The disease affects more than 30 million Americans and is the third leading cause of death worldwide.

The multi-year, multicenter study – the SPIROMICS Study of Early Disease Progression (SOURCE) – is focused on enrolling a younger cohort of participants (ages 30 to 55) who have a history of cigarette smoking to help define the mechanisms of COPD progression. The study is examining small airway abnormalities that may lead to emphysema, as well as the possibility of using sputum as a biomarker for COPD.

Most studies on COPD focus on an older cohort of participants, typically those 60 and older. By enrolling younger participants who are at risk of COPD, we hope to determine why some smokers develop emphysema and some do not. This study will allow us to provide novel insight into the progression of the disease, which is necessary for the development of new therapies needed for COPD."

Jeffrey L. Curtis, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System's Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, and co-lead author of the study

The SOURCE study uses the existing infrastructure from the large, multi-year SPIROMICS study (SubPopulations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures In COPD Study). Participant data is collected at baseline and at 3-year follow-up visits. Additional information on symptoms, interim health care utilization and exacerbations is collected via phone call every six months.

SOURCE is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and supplemented by contributions made through the COPD Foundation.