COPD Research

• COPD National Action Plan: The NHLBI, with input from federal and nonfederal partners, developed the COPD National Action Plan to guide nationwide efforts to reduce the burden of COPD. The goals of the plan include improved diagnosis, prevention, and treatment; improved surveillance and analysis of COPD public health data; and enhanced research to better understand and control the disease. View progress toward these goals with NHLBI’s Community Action Tool.
• Awareness and care guidelines: In 1998, the NHLBI helped launch the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) to promote worldwide COPD awareness. In 2001, the first GOLD workshop report provided the initial guidelines for the diagnosis and management of COPD. GOLD now operates independently from the NHLBI. Every year GOLD publishes a report updating the guidelines in line with new research findings. GOLD also has educational materials for healthcare providers and for people who have COPD and those who support them.
• Lung volume reduction surgery: The National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) was the first multicenter trial to study whether a surgical procedure called lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) was a safe and effective treatment for patients who have COPD with emphysema as its main component. Emphysema is a condition caused by damage to the walls between the air sacs in the lungs. The trial results showed that LVRS can help improve breathing and quality of life in people who have emphysema in the upper part of their lungs and who cannot get enough  oxygen during physical activity. These results have helped doctors recommend the right treatment options for people who have COPD. 
• Tool for screening: The COPD Assessment in Primary Care to Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease & Exacerbation Risk (CAPTURE) Study validated a simple tool for COPD screening in primary care settings to identify people with undiagnosed COPD. The tool has two parts: a quick breathing test and a simple questionnaire. The screening takes less than a minute. Doctors use it so that people with COPD symptoms  can receive a diagnosis and start to get treatment. 

NHLBI News

The COPD Assessment in Primary Care to Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease & Exacerbation Risk (CAPTURE) Study validates a simple tool for COPD screening in primary care settings that will help to identify people with undiagnosed COPD. Researchers are confirming that a quick breathing test and a simple questionnaire can help reach patients who are likely to benefit from treatment for COPD.

Learn more about the CAPTURE Study.

Our Division of Lung Diseases and its Obstructive Lung Diseases Branch oversee much of the research on COPD we fund.

Current research on proteins, genetics, and COPD

• Biomarkers and COPD: NHLBI-funded researchers are studying lung tissue samples to identify new protein biomarkers. These biomarkers could be signs that COPD may develop. Through this analysis, the researchers hope to gain insight into the biological underpinnings of COPD, which may help in designing future  clinical trials  and improving treatment.
• Risk factors for COPD: The SubPopulations and InteRmediate Outcome Measures In COPD Study (SPIROMICS II) uses information from lung tests, biological specimens, imaging, and  genetic  testing to help us understand what raises a person’s risk of COPD and how COPD develops. It also identifies new biomarkers to predict COPD symptoms and progression. SPIROMICS participates in NHLBI’s Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program, which makes the study’s data available to other program investigators.
• Genetic therapies: NHLBI-funded researchers are developing new approaches to genetic therapies that treat alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. AAT deficiency is a genetic condition that raises the risk of COPD. Researchers are also working toward a detailed understanding of what happens in the body when AAT genes change. 

Find more NHLBI-funded studies on genetics and COPD at NIH RePORTER.

Current research on the early stages and development of COPD

• Early detection: The SPIROMICS Study of Early COPD Progression (SOURCE) looks for the earliest signs of COPD. It uses questionnaires, breathing tests, imaging, and biospecimens to test different hypotheses about how people with a history of smoking develop lung obstruction and why some people develop COPD and others do not.
• Predictors of lung health: The Lung Health Cohort (LHC) is a population-based cohort study of members of the millennial generation. Its goal is to characterize behavioral, environmental, and biological predictors of lung health in early adulthood.
• Smoking and COPD: The MESA COPD Study looks at how changes to the blood vessels of smokers’ lungs may contribute to the loss of lung function in COPD. The MESA COPD Study is part of the NHLBI-sponsored Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis medical research study.

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and other sources, appear to protect lung function in healthy adults. Learn more about NHLBI-funded research to study their role in COPD patients’ health.

Current research on health disparities

• COPD in rural populations: In 2019, the NHLBI established the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal Cohort Study (RURAL) to address COPD and other diseases that may affect rural populations more than others. Researchers are examining how lifestyle and genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors affect a person’s risk of serious heart and lung conditions. The study is recruiting about 4,000 participants in rural counties in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Researchers use a mobile van with an examination unit and a CT scanner to reach participants.

In the rural South, COPD rates are twice as high as in urban areas. Learn how RURAL study researchers are reaching out to residents of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta to learn about their health.

• Increasing access to treatment: Pulmonary rehabilitation is a treatment that improves quality of life for many COPD patients. Yet it is not always available in rural areas. The Video Telehealth Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Reduce Hospital Readmission in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease study is evaluating the value of video telehealth rehabilitation programs. Other research aims to test a community-based program to help deliver better care for low-income patients. If research shows that options like these are effective and practical, they could improve COPD patient outcomes in rural areas and other places where there are barriers to care. 
• Sleep’s tie to COPD disparities: NHLBI researchers found that poor sleep can increase the risk of COPD flare-ups. Past studies show that Black Americans tend to have poorer sleep quality than other races and ethnicities. By linking poorer sleep and worse COPD outcomes, this study may help explain why Black Americans as a group tend to do worse when they have COPD, compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

Find more NHLBI-funded studies on COPD and health disparities at NIH RePORTER.

Current research on air pollution

• Clean air for better health: Patients with COPD who breathe poor quality air at home may be risking worse symptoms. NHLBI-funded researchers are testing home air filter use to cut down on indoor pollutants. They will see if using air filters can reduce flare-ups and medicine use.

Do you have a bright idea for improving the lives of people with a portable oxygen supply? These people did! 

Learn more about the winners of NHLBI’s Air You Wear research challenge.

Current research on diagnosis and treatment

• New treatments: The Pulmonary Trials Cooperative brings together patients, researchers, and healthcare professionals from more than 50 institutions with a common goal of developing new treatments for lung diseases. This program includes three clinical trials on COPD. One studies people with COPD symptoms and a history of smoking, but normal lung function. It finds that standard COPD medicines do not help ease their symptoms.  

• Expanding treatment options: The NHLBI supports research into alternatives to current treatments like medicine and surgery. Scientists are testing a valve placed in the lung that allows trapped air to escape. It could help patients breathe easier and one day give them more choices for better health. 
• New targets for treatments:  Mucus  plugs that block medium and large airways are dangerous for COPD patients. Recent study results showing an increased risk of death among patients with more blockages have focused attention on clearing mucus as a targeted COPD treatment. Medicines used to clear mucus could be considered for treatment of COPD.
• Find more NHLBI-funded studies on COPD treatment at NIH RePORTER.

Research from the NHLBI Laboratory of Asthma and Lung Inflammation on the NIH campus is focused on developing new treatments for COPD.

Read more about these projects and ongoing clinical trials.

• Learn More Breathe Better® is a national health education program for COPD, asthma, and other lung and respiratory diseases. The program raises awareness about COPD and supports the promotion, implementation, and adoption of evidence-based care. Learn More Breathe Better has tools and handouts for patients, including tips for living better with COPD. Read about how NHLBI’s Learn More Breathe Better program helps local communities ease the burden of COPD.
• The Molecular Atlas of Lung Development Program (LungMAP) maps the tissues, cells,  genes , and molecules that make up the developing lung. The program advances lung research, in part through its web-based data resource called BREATH, which allows users to access LungMAP data and findings. Nearly 200 research papers have been produced using LungMAP data, and the program’s maps have helped scientists understand the complex processes that control the growth, structure, and function of the lungs.
• Researchers can access tissue samples and data from NHLBI’s Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center (BIOLINCC) for the study of COPD. BIOLINCC stores samples from the Lung Tissue Research Consortium, SPIROMICS, and other studies.