Narrative Review: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Chronic Bronchitis.
- 1Department of General Medicine, Shanghai Pudong New District Nanhui New Town Community Health Service Center, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
- 2Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Abstract
Chronic bronchitis is defined clinically as persistent cough-sputum production for at least three months per year over two consecutive years, representing a symptomatic airway phenotype that may occur in isolation or co-exist with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Importantly, chronic bronchitis and COPD are not synonymous, and many clinical data are derived from COPD patients with chronic-bronchitis phenotype and cannot be fully generalized to isolated chronic bronchitis. This narrative review synthesized publications retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and CNKI published between January 2015 and August 2026. Relevant peer-reviewed original articles, meta-analyses and systematic reviews were included after title-abstract screening and full-text evaluation. Globally, this condition shows prominent regional and population-specific epidemiological disparities. Smoking, environmental exposure, and host-related factors are core risk factors. Its pathophysiology is driven by chronic airway inflammation, airway remodeling, immune-metabolic disturbance, and genetic susceptibility. Current clinical evaluation integrates imaging examinations, investigational and routine biomarkers, and pulmonary-function testing. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures together with phenotype-oriented individualized strategies can alleviate disease burden, yet high-quality evidence specifically targeting isolated chronic bronchitis remains limited. Emerging approaches such as CFTR modulators and biomarker-guided precision therapies show preliminary research promise, but they are not ready for widespread routine clinical application at present. Major unresolved uncertainties remain regarding validated clinical biomarkers, reproducible genetic risk markers, and optimal long-term monitoring strategies for isolated chronic bronchitis.
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BibTeX
@article{gao2026narrative,
title = {{Narrative Review: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Chronic Bronchitis.}},
author = {Shi Gao and Siqi Zhao},
journal = {International journal of general medicine},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.2147/ijgm.s625641},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999593},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Narrative Review: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Chronic Bronchitis.
AU - Shi Gao
AU - Siqi Zhao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - International journal of general medicine
DO - 10.2147/ijgm.s625641
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999593
AB - Chronic bronchitis is defined clinically as persistent cough-sputum production for at least three months per year over two consecutive years, representing a symptomatic airway phenotype that may occur in isolation or co-exist with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Importantly, chronic bronchitis and COPD are not synonymous, and many clinical data are derived from COPD patients with chronic-bronchitis phenotype and cannot be fully generalized to isolated chronic bronchitis. This narrative review synthesized publications retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and CNKI published between January 2015 and August 2026. Relevant peer-reviewed original articles, meta-analyses and systematic reviews were included after title-abstract screening and full-text evaluation. Globally, this condition shows prominent regional and population-specific epidemiological disparities. Smoking, environmental exposure, and host-related factors are core risk factors. Its pathophysiology is driven by chronic airway inflammation, airway remodeling, immune-metabolic disturbance, and genetic susceptibility. Current clinical evaluation integrates imaging examinations, investigational and routine biomarkers, and pulmonary-function testing. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures together with phenotype-oriented individualized strategies can alleviate disease burden, yet high-quality evidence specifically targeting isolated chronic bronchitis remains limited. Emerging approaches such as CFTR modulators and biomarker-guided precision therapies show preliminary research promise, but they are not ready for widespread routine clinical application at present. Major unresolved uncertainties remain regarding validated clinical biomarkers, reproducible genetic risk markers, and optimal long-term monitoring strategies for isolated chronic bronchitis.
SN - 1178-7074
ER -