Chest Research Foundation and Imperial College have been awarded a grant by medical research councils of India and UK to conduct a joint research on non-smoking chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Pune-based Chest Research Foundation (CRF) and Imperial College, London, have been awarded a grant of Rs6.5 crore by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) of the United Kingdom, to conduct a joint advanced research study on non-smoking chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
As per recent estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO), COPD is slated to become the third biggest cause of death in the world by 2020. Deaths due to COPD are estimated to increase by 160% over the next two decades.
According to a report published by the Maharashtra State Health Resource Centre in March 2010, from the top 10 causes of death in Maharashtra, COPD stood out as the number one cause of death.
According to director of CRF, Dr Sundeep Salvi, it has been observed that 23% of COPD occur in people under 40 years and 5,50,000 people die due to COPD in India every year. “We need a National COPD control programme if we want to reduce the number of deaths and suffering caused by COPD,” Salvi said.
The ICMR and the MRC had jointly invited applications from Indo-UK collaborative research institutes for conducting research in the field of non-communicable diseases, including respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
“Nine applications were short-listed and the CRF team was chosen last week by a panel of top scientists from India and the UK, after a rigorous screening process,” Salvi said.
According to Salvi, the joint studies will focus on prevalence and risk factors of COPD. “Scientists will analyse the similarities and differences between smoking and non-smoking versions of COPD. This will help us arrive at specific solutions to reduce the economic burden and mortality of the disease,” Salvi said.
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