Africa-Press – Uganda. A public health expert at Makerere University Lung Institute has advised the public to take regular activity to keep their lungs healthy.
Dr Simon Walusimbi noted that exercise improves quality of life, whether you are healthy or have a lung condition.
“Many people associate keeping fit with maintaining a healthy heart, losing weight and reducing the risk of illnesses such as diabetes, but exercise also helps keep lungs healthy,” Dr Walusimbi said.
He made the remarks yesterday as Uganda joined the rest of the world to mark World Lung Day.
“When you exercise, your heart beats faster and your lungs work harder. Your body needs more oxygen to fuel your muscles. Your lungs step up their activity to deliver that oxygen while expelling additional carbon dioxide,” he said.
Dr Walusimbi said lungs expand during exercise, hence preventing compression of lower lung areas.
He said respiratory diseases are among the leading causes of ill health among Ugandans, despite being preventable and economical to treat.
According to the Ministry of Health, lung related complaints account for 30 percent of hospital visits in health facilities. The main respiratory diseases are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer.
The five lung diseases are responsible for four million deaths globally.
“Asthma, for example, affects 1 percent to 18 percent of world population, including both children and adults,” he said. “Childhood asthma can adversely impact the physical and psychological development of children, besides being fatal. Similarly among adults with suboptimal control, asthma may be fatal, or may result in absence from work or psychosocial morbidity,” Dr Walusimbi added.
He said access to diagnostics and treatment for asthma and COPD are not widely available in Uganda and remain largely unaffordable. Studies conducted by Makerere University Lung Institute (MLI) show that one in five Ugandan adults suffer from a chronic respiratory disease such as asthma.
Dr Walusimbi said the risk factors include air pollution, particularly in urban settings, exposure to tobacco/shisha smoke, and history of having suffered from tuberculosis which is a disease that primarily affects the lungs.
Dr Walusimbi said public health authorities must realise that breathing clean/safe air is as important as drinking clean water for the prevention of water-borne disease hence the efforts invested for delivery of safe piped water should be replicated to ensure communities breathe safe and clean air for prevention of lung diseases.
Prevalence rate
According to the Ministry of Health, lung related complaints account for 30 percent of hospital visits in health facilities.
The main respiratory diseases are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer.
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