[Severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in young women who smoke]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was diagnosed in three women aged 39, 41 and 41 years who were all heavy smokers. They presented with symptoms of dyspnoea. At the time of diagnosis they already had advanced pulmonary emphysema and signs of systemic impairment. At the last follow-up one woman had a very limited range of action, the second was awaiting a lung transplant after several periods of hospitalization, and the third had died. Nowadays pneumologists are increasingly encountering severe COPD in young female patients. Increased tobacco consumption in women has run parallel to the rising mortality rates from COPD in females over the last decades. Cigarette smoking is probably associated with a higher risk of obstructive lung disease in women than in men. Moreover women with COPD maintain exercise capacity longer than men with similar degrees of airway obstruction, leading to a risk of them waiting too long before seeking medical help. Actions aimed at discouraging smoking especially in adolescence are without doubt the intervention of choice for prevention of this highly disabling disease.