ABSTRACT

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a major and increasing healthcare concern worldwide, which is characterized by non reversible airflow limitation of lung. COPD is considered to be of a multi factorial disease. Imbalance of the cellular oxidant-antioxidant complex induces generation of oxidative stress, which plays a vital role in COPD pathophysiology. Environmental exposures such as cigarette smoking, oxidizing gases, biomass fuels, ultrafine particulate matter, nanoparticles, and environmental pollution are the major exogenous sources for the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) which triggers inflammation in the lungs. Airborne heavy metals were considered to be one of the major causal factors for developing occupational lung diseases. In recent years, there has been a worldwide increasing health issue associated with heavy metal pollution. This review focuses on the possible role of heavy metal exposure in the development of COPD.

Key words: Heavy metals; exposure; impaired antioxidant machinery;