Researchers have discovered that genetic variations in the anatomy of the lungs could serve as genetic indicators to help identify people who have low, but stable, lung function early in life.
The results of the study, which was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Cigarette smoking has long been the most common cause of COPD, but not all smokers develop the condition, and many non-smokers do. Why that is so has never been fully understood, but a team of researchers now have a clue after discovering that genetically programmed airway tree variation is linked to a higher prevalence of COPD among older adults.
