Singapore - Doctors in Singapore were advised on Wednesday to give a breath test to patients aged 35 and above with chronic coughs or breathlessness to help detect smoking-linked diseases early.
The test will help physicians detect those suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
The recommendation published in The Straits Times, among a set of new guidelines from the Ministry of Health, was made in coordination with World COPD Day on Wednesday.
Damage to the lungs from COPD is largely irreversible. Early diagnosis combined with cutting out smoking and medication can mean longer lives, experts said.
An estimated 4.5 per cent of the population aged 40 and above in Singapore suffer from COPD.
Without any guidelines, many COPD patients go undiagnosed or are treated as asthmatics, Dr Tan Boon Yeow, chairman of the group that drafted the guidelines, told the newspaper.
The number of COPD patients is expected to rise as the population ages and those who began smoking in the 1970s start showing symptoms.