Original scientific paper
Chronic bronchitis and ventilatory lung function in smokers and nonsmokers
I. Kalačić
; Institut za medicinska istraživanja i medicinu rada JAZU, Zagreb
Abstract
In 710 workers who have not been exposed to occupational respiratory noxae the relationship of cigarette smoking to chronic bronchitis and ventilatory lung function was studied. British Medical Research Council's questionnaire was used and simple tests of ventilatory lung function were performed on the waterless spirometer »Pulmnonor«. With regard to smoking habit workers were divided into: 1. nonsmokers - those who have never smoked or have smoked but not more than one cigarette a day on the average, 2. ex-smokers - those who have smoked more than one cigarette a day but have stopped smoking at least one month prior lo the examination, 3. present smokers, who were categorized with regard to the amount of cigarettes smoked during their lifetime as: a.) light smokers, if the product of the average number of cigarettes smoked daily and the number of years of smoking was below 200, b.) moderate smokers, if this product was between 201 and 600 and c.) heavy smokers, if the product was above 600. Among workers there were no cigar or pipe smokers. The results have shown that the prevalence of chronic bronchitis was higher in smokers than in nonsmokers (p < 0.01). There was a direct relationship between the amount of cigarettes smoked during the lifetime and the occurrence of chronic bronchitis. Vital capacity, expressed as the percentage of the predicted values was lower in heavy smokers than in nonsmokers (p < 0.05). There was no difference in vital capacity between nonsmokers and smokers when taken all together. The FEV1/FVC ratio was lower in smokers than in nonsmokers but the difference was not statistically significant. The expiratory flow rate during the third quarter of forced vital capacity (E50-75) was lower in smokers (p < 0.05). These results are considered as a contribution to the presumption that the association between cigarette smoking and chronic bronchitis and the impairment of ventilatory lung function is causal.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
173887
URI
Publication date:
25.3.1970.
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