Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): data introduction

Data on COPD in Scotland are available from primary care data sources (historic data from the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE)) and from secondary care data sources (hospital discharge data). Mortality data are available from the National Records of Scotland (NRS, formerly the General Register Office for Scotland). Given that the population attributable risk of smoking for COPD is commonly accepted to be at least 50%, a short section detailing smoking trends in the UK and Scotland has also been included to aid interpretation of COPD trends over time. Further information on trends in smoking in Scotland is available in the ScotPHO section on tobacco use.

Notes on the coding of COPD data can be found by following this link to the section on COPD clinical coding. When interpreting trends over time it should also be noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has distorted trends due to changes in the provision of healthcare services and the increased morbidity due to the virus in COPD sufferers. ScotPHO advises users to exercise caution when interpreting figures from recent years.