What is lung disease? - Lung Foundation Australia

A lung disease diagnosis can be shocking. But you are not alone.

Whether you are living with a lung disease, caring for someone who is sick, or simply wish to understand how you can take better care of your lungs, we are here to help. Lung disease is any problem in the lungs that prevents the lungs from working properly. Anyone can get lung disease. It affects men, women, children, smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers, all of whom are equally worthy of care and support.

Types of lung disease

There are three main types of lung disease, including:

Airway diseases:These diseases, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), affect the airways that carry oxygen and other gases into and out of the lungs. They usually cause a narrowing or blockage of the airways.
Lung tissue diseases:These diseases, such as Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), affect the structure of the lung tissue. Scarring or inflammation of the tissue makes the lungs unable to expand fully (restrictive lung disease). This makes it hard for the lungs to take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
Lung circulation diseases:These diseases, such as Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), affect the blood vessels in the lungs. They are caused by clotting, scarring, or inflammation of the blood vessels. They affect the ability of the lungs to take up oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

Who is at risk?

While anyone can get lung disease, your risk can be increased by a number of factors, including age, or if you:

Smoke or have ever smoked.
Work or worked in a job that exposed you to dust, gas, fumes or chemicals.
Have a family history of lung disease.

There are ways you can reduce your risk of lung disease or, for those already living with a lung disease, maintain the best quality of life available to you.

Warning signs and symptoms

Symptoms of lung disease tend to creep up slowly and people often put the symptoms down to aging or lack of fitness. This leads to many automatically adjusting their daily activities to accommodate or reduce their symptoms rather than getting help. Knowing the early warning signs of lung disease can help you receive treatment before the disease becomes serious or even life threatening. If you experience any of the following warning signs, make an appointment with your healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Have a new, persistent or changed cough
Cough up mucus, phlegm or blood
Get breathless more easily than others your age
Experience chest tightness or wheeze
Have frequent chest infections
Experience chest pain, fatigue
Experience sudden weight loss

Remember, you don’t have to navigate through your lung health queries alone. For support contact us.

Connect with support

Lung Function Tests

Lung function tests provide an easy way of measuring the function of your lungs without the need to physically examine the lungs themselves. Lung function or breathing tests are important investigations which:

Help diagnose suspected lung disease
Help in planning treatments and deciding whether treatments should be continued, changed, or are no longer needed

Find out more by downloading our Lung Function Test fact sheet.

Lung disease in Australia

Anyone can get lung disease. Take 2 minutes to check in with your lungs.

Check your lungs

References

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² Lung Disease in Australia, 2014, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

³ Galaxy Research Omnibus, January 2014 (wave 1)

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⁵ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018. Admitted patient care 2016–17: Australian hospital statistics. Health services series no. 84. Cat. no. HSE 201. Canberra: AIHW.

⁶ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018, Cancer compendium: information and trends by cancer type,

⁷Lung Foundation Australia, Improving outcomes for Australians with lung cancer: A Call to Action (2016)

⁸Jo HE, Glaspole I, Grainge C, et al. Baseline characteristics of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: analysis from the Australian Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Registry. Eur Respir J 2017; 49:1601592 [https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01592-2016].

⁹Strange G, Gabbay E,Kermeen F, Williams T, Carrington M, Stewart S, et al. 2013;3 (1):89-9

¹⁰Bronchiectasis Toolbox, Prevalence of bronchiectasis, https://bronchiectasis.com.au/bronchiectasis/bronchiectasis/prevalence

¹¹Lung Foundation Australia PureProfile Consumer Survey, 2017

¹² Lung Foundation Australia Patient Survey, 2017

¹³ Australian Bureau of Statistics – Australia’s leading causes of death, 2016: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/3303.0~2016~Main%20Features~Australia’s%20leading%20causes%20of%20death,%202016~3
¹⁴ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2018, Deaths in Australia, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/life-expectancy-death/deaths-in-australia/contents/leading-causes-of-death