Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of illness, death and healthcare costs in British Columbia. Many people with COPD experience repeated “lung attacks” that lead to emergency visits and hospital stays, reducing quality of life and placing pressure on the health system. At present, clinicians mainly rely on symptoms and past medical history to judge who is at higher risk, but these approaches do not fully explain why some people worsen faster than others.

This project aims to test whether information about a person’s inherited genetic risk can improve prediction of COPD outcomes and healthcare use in British Columbia. Led by Dr. Min Hyung Ryu and Dr. Kate Johnson at the University of British Columbia, the study will examine polygenic risk scores, which combine the small effects of many genes into a single measure of risk, to see if they add value beyond current clinical tools.

The team will use existing genome-wide data from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease study, which has followed about 1,500 participants across Canada since 2009, including more than 400 from British Columbia. Genetic risk scores will be securely linked with provincial administrative health records through Health Data Platform BC, allowing researchers to study real‑world outcomes such as exacerbations, hospitalizations and mortality over many years.

The project will generate the first BC-based evidence on whether genetic risk information improves prediction of COPD outcomes and healthcare use. Findings could support earlier identification of people at higher risk, more proactive care and better planning of health services, while helping lay the groundwork for responsible integration of genomic data into population health research in British Columbia.