Summary
This narrative review in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine synthesises current understanding of COPD pathogenesis through a lifespan lens, emphasising how genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures interact cumulatively to drive disease development. The authors argue that integrating early-life exposures, gene–environment correlations, and cumulative environmental burden is essential to understanding COPD aetiology. The work prioritises the interplay between inherited and modifiable determinants as key mechanistic drivers of disease.
Regional applicability
The lifespan perspective and gene–environment framework presented may inform UK respiratory health policy and clinical practice, particularly in identifying vulnerable populations and modifiable environmental risk factors. However, applicability will depend on the extent to which the review's conclusions reflect environmental and genetic patterns relevant to the UK population.
Key measures
Qualitative synthesis of gene–environment interactions; early-life exposures; cumulative environmental burden; inherited genetic risk factors
Outcomes reported
The review synthesises understanding of how genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures interact across the lifespan to drive chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathogenesis. It examines the interplay between inherited risk factors and modifiable environmental determinants in shaping disease aetiology.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.