ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Chronic obstructive airways disease (COPD) in older patients is reported to be not only common, but also frequently overlooked and untreated by general practitioners. Chronic bronchitis is one of the major components of COPD and can be readily screened. This study investigates the prevalence of chronic bronchitis and related symptoms in Iran with special reference to COPD. METHODOLOGY: A random sample of 4636 participants aged 35 years and over, attended a research clinic for interview and physical examinations. Those reporting classic symptoms of chronic bronchitis were referred to a pulmonary clinic for pulmonary function testing. RESULTS: Two hundred and sixteen patients (4.65%) had chronic bronchitis. Among these, 78 (36.1%) had obstructive airways disease. Decreased forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity to levels of less than 70% were recorded in 45 patients (42.9% of the tested population). Less than 25% of the patients had a previous diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and/or airways disease. CONCLUSION: Obstructive airway diseases are under-diagnosed in developing countries. Physicians practising in such areas of the world should be aware, and try to detect the subclinical illnesses, especially in urban areas.
