This chronic lung disease could knock years off your life, even if you never smoked

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-17 23:25

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People living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are expected to live up to seven years less than those without it, according to international research, which found the drop in life expectancy was similar in those who smoked and those who never smoked. Depending on the severity of the COPD, the study found that after the age of 65, people lost between 0.7 and 7.1 years of life, with an average of 1.9 years across all people with COPD.

News release

From: JAMA

Life Expectancy in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
JAMA Internal Medicine

About The Study: In this cohort study, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with lower life expectancy, including in adults who never smoked.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Internal Medicine

Research: Link to Paper 1 | Paper 2

Organisation/s: University of Alabama, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, USA

Funder: S.P.B. is supported by NIH R01HL151421 and UH3HL155806. Y.S. is supported by NIH R01HL173153, R21HL156228, and RF1AG081413. P.P.B. is supported by NIH R21HL165405 and R21HL15622. E.C.O. is supported by NIH R01HL155576, R01HL157634, R01HL173153, R21HL165405, R21 HL129924, and R21HL15622. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the NHLBI, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services, under contract numbers 75N92022D00001, 75N92022D00002, 75N92022D00003, 75N92022D00004, 75N92022D00005. This research was supported by contracts HHSN268201200036C, HHSN268200800007C, HHSN268201800001C, N01HC55222, N01HC85079, N01HC85080, N01HC85081, N01HC85082, N01HC85083, N01HC85086, and 75N92021D00006, and grants U01HL080295, U01HL130114, and R01HL172803 from the NHLBI, with additional contribution from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Additional support was provided by R01AG023629 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study was funded by N01-AG-6-2101, N01-AG-6-2103, and N01-AG-6-2106; NIA grant R01-AG028050; National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) grant R01-NR012459; and supported in part by the intramural research program at the NIA. The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study was funded by NIH/NHLBI R01-HL-077612, R01-HL-093081, RC1-HL-100543, N01-HC-95159, N01-HC-95160, N01-HC-95161, N01-HC-95162, N01-HC-95163, N01-HC-95164, N01-HC-95165, N01-HC-95166, N01-HC-95167, N01-HC-95168, and N01-HC-95169. The Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort (FOC) was funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the NHLBI, Department of Health and Human Services, under contract no. 75N92019D00031. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA) is supported by contracts 75N92023D00002, 75N92023D00003, 75N92023D00004, 75N92023D00005, and 75N92023D00006 from the NHLBI. The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/ SOL) was funded by the NHLBI (contracts HHSN268201300001I/N01-HC-65233 to the University of North Carolina, HHSN268201300004I/N01-HC-65234 to the University of Miami, HHSN268201300002I/ N01-HC65235 to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, HHSN268201300003I to the University of Illinois at Chicago, N01-HC-65236 to Northwestern University, and HHSN268201300005I/N01-HC-65237 to San Diego State University). The Strong Heart Study was funded by the NHLBI (cooperative agreement grants U01-HL41642, U01-HL41652, U01-HL41654, U01-HL65520, and U01-HL65521 and research grants R01-HL109315, R01HL109301, R01HL109284, R01HL109282, and R01HL109319).

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