e a sign to look for. A steady tracking of the symptoms and health history of the person should be taken into consideration as well. Prevalence and/or Incidence: Emphysema is a fairly common disease, with two out of one thousand people reporting cases. Currently, there are 1.8 million Americans in the United States that have emphysema. Emphysema is ranked 15th among chronic conditions or diseases which limit peoples daily activity. A study by the American Lung Association shows that 44 percent of people with emphysema have reported that their daily activities have been greatly limited due to the disease. Ethnical Distribution: Emphysema can be contracted by people of all walks of life and does not favor any particular ethnic groups. The contraction of emphysema mainly depends on life style.Geographical Distribution:Emphysema is a disease that in not only caused by the way you live, but can be contracted through the area in which a person lives. For example, people who live in urban areas are at higher risk. This is due to the fact that these areas are more highly populated with factories and cluttered with automobiles. These factories produce a great deal of smoke which can be very harmful to the lungs of the people who inhale it. The automobile exhaust has the same affect on the lungs if inhaled for long periods of time.Time of Study: In 1994 the study on males and females and their percentage difference was performed and then in 1996 the study was updated.Risk Factors or Causes: Scientific research shows that the normal lung system has a strong balance between two classes of chemicals, which strongly oppose each other. Also included in the lungs are many elastic fibers, which are necessary for the lung to expand and contract. The chemical balance in a normal lung can be altered which will result in destruction of these elastic fibers. Exhaling becomes difficult because the elastic fibers are damaged which in turn harm...
