No abstract

A survey on chronic bronchitis was performed sample of the active population of Geneva in which 1.681 males and 1.201 females were required to fill out a questionnaire of the Medical Research Council translated into French. Exploratory functions measured were the following: peak flow rate (PFR) with the peak flow meter of Wright; forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV₁); forced, expiratory volume in 3 sec (FEV3), and vital capacity with a pulmonary function indicator of Chemetron. Our sample was representative of industry, business and administration; however, representation of building trades, agriculture and craftsmen was poor. The sample contained a fair proportion of skilled and unskilled workers, technical employees and executives, Chronic bronchitis was defined according to the proposal of the Ciba Guest Symposium 1959. We divided our sample into three groups: a healthy group without any respiratory symptoms, an inbetween group which had symptoms but which did not fit the definition of chronic bronchitis, and a group which had symptoms which fit the definition. A severity scale of 4 degrees was established in order to provide a measure of the severity of respiratory symptoms.