Key points from article :
Researchers say 55% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients suffering two or more acute attacks a year earn under £20,000.
The poorest are five times more likely to die from the condition.
More than 1.3 million people in the UK are estimated to have COPD, a group of lung conditions like emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
A survey that included nearly 6,000 people living with COPD, found that structural inequalities had a significant bearing on whether a patient would survive.
Of the nearly 4,000 people who suffered two or more acute attacks a year, 55% earned less than £20,000 a year and 13% lived in a cold, damp house.
An estimated 30,000 people die from COPD each year in the UK.
Nick Hopkinson, medical director said: “One of the impacts of inequality ... it increases the risk of dying from lung disease".
The research was carried out by Asthma + Lung UK and published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research
