---
title: "Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - Sapience Financial"
description: "Explore the financial burden of COPD, with individuals bearing 45.6% of costs and their families and friends contributing 1.6%. Discover the economic challenges faced by those managing advanced COPD and the impact on their ability to afford medical expenses."
url: "https://www.sapience.com.au/cost-burden-of/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease"
date: "2026-05-26T02:44:55+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

Reading Time: 1 minute

## Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is a condition that limits airflow to the lungs and is **not fully reversible with the use of medication**.

Among Australians with lung disease, **COPD contributes to one-third of the overall health burden** and two almost one-third of deaths.

#### What's the risk?

- Tobacco use in exposure is the single main cause of COPD (74.6%) followed by occupational exposure (2.9%) and air pollution (0.3%)
- Mainly middle-aged and older people are affected by COPD.
- The number of people with COPD increases with age, increasing from 1-13, in those 40 years and over to almost 1-3 in those aged 75 years and over.

#### The cost of COPD

A person with COPD will carry 45.6% of the financial costs and an additional 1.6% is carried by their families and Friends – *Lung foundation Australia 2008*.

78% of people living with advanced COPD experience economic hardship from managing their illness and 27% were unable to pay for their medical expenses – *Rising epidemic of COPD in women, women's health in Primary Care 1992.*

![chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cost to care sapience financial](https://www.sapience.com.au/images/cost-to-care/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-cost-to-care-sapience-financial.svg)

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