According to World Health Organization (WHO) data,
more than 80 million COPD patients have reached intermediate or severe stages. Over 3 million persons died of COPD in the year 2005. This number amounts to 5% of total deaths worldwide. In fact, WHO predicts that cases of death related to COPD will rise to make it the third highest cause of death globally by the year 2030. Developed countries provide data on the prevalence of COPD for mortality and morbidity, whereas moderately or poorly developed countries report more than 90% of deaths due to COPD (Gu¨ nen & Yetkin 2008, WHO 2011a, 2011b).