Chronic bronchitis and the type of cigarette smoked.

<bold>Background: </bold>Smoking is a well known primary risk factor for chronic bronchitis. However, little is known about the relationship between different types of cigarettes smoked and chronic bronchitis.<bold>Objective: </bold>To determine the association between chronic bronchitis and the type of cigarette smoked.<bold>Methods: </bold>A cross-sectional prevalence study was conducted in an urban area (Pelotas) of Southern Brazil. A total of 1053 subjects aged > or = 40 years were interviewed about respiratory symptoms and some risk factors for chronic bronchitis.<bold>Results: </bold>After adjustment for confounding factors, the number of daily cigarettes smoked was strongly associated with the risk of chronic bronchitis (odds ratio [OR] = 8.10, 95% CI: 4.46-14.71 for smokers of > or = 20 cigarettes per day compared to non-smokers). Among smokers, maize leaf cigarettes showed the highest risk (OR = 5.43 compared to non-smokers, 95% CI: 2.65-11.13) and filter cigarettes the lowest (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.19-4.03).<bold>Conclusions: </bold>In addition to the number of cigarettes smoked, the use of maize leaf cigarettes was shown to have an important independent association with chronic bronchitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]