Dhaka, Oct. 31 -- Despite the advances in medical science, the world is still plagued by a variety of diseases. Chronic diseases are on the rise, while infectious diseases are staging a comeback. Such a double burden is often higher in low to middle-income countries like ours due to the lack of a concerted effort to combat the risk factors.

Among the chronic health conditions, different lung diseases are causing serious problems in Bangladesh. A joint study by the University of Dhaka and Dhaka Medical College researchers revealed that among many lung conditions, COPD or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease could be the highest, accounting for a prevalence of about 12.5 per cent, which is considerably more than many neighbouring countrie...