[Longitudinal control of a selected group of young men in view of chronic bronchitis incidence (author's transl)].

Report on a prospective longitudinal study of a group fo 16 years old men of Prague, followed up to 6 years. Every two years questionnaires were checked and fluorography, ECG and breathing function tests had been done, too. The group of 341 young men, whose data were complete, had been divided into smokers and nonsmokers, in students and apprentices as well as in healthy persons and people, who suffered from chronic bronchitis. All men with chronic bronchitis had a smoker-history but breathing function tests were normal. First signs of bronchitis will not be recorded by function tests but will be found out by subjective symptoms about 3 years after the beginning of smoking.