TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Fu Pin-kuei (傅彬貴), a doctor at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, said on Tuesday that a chronic cough lasting more than eight weeks could signal pulmonary fibrosis, or lung scarring.

Pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung inflammation, can result from several lung diseases, Fu said. Repeated lung injury and scarring stiffen and thicken normally soft, elastic tissue, hindering gas exchange and oxygen absorption into the bloodstream.

Fu said the early symptoms of lung scarring are not obvious. Some individuals may mistake chronic coughing, shortness of breath, and fatigue for a cold or general weakness, per CNA.

Fu warned that pulmonary fibrosis could lead to rapid lung function decline if severe. The disease is irreversible, and acute worsening can result in a mortality rate exceeding 50%.

Fu said that individuals over 50 with a history of smoking, a family history of pulmonary fibrosis or long-term gastroesophageal reflux, a condition where stomach contents move up into the esophagus, are typically affected. Patients with autoimmune diseases, where the body's immune system attacks healthy tissue, are also at high risk.

Wang I-jen (王怡人), a pediatrician at Taipei Hospital, said that substances like nicotine, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde in e-cigarettes can cause immune dysfunction and chronic lung damage. E-cigarettes may also increase the risk of pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, and cancer.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, pneumonia was the third leading cause of death in Taiwan in 2023. Tracheal and lung cancer were the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in 2022 and 2023.