Does chronic bronchitis affect men and women differently?

Women are much more likely to develop chronic bronchitis; for every man who is diagnosed, two women are diagnosed with the disease. When it comes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, historically, men were at higher risk than women. However, within the last several years that has been changing. Just recently, in 2011, the number of women diagnosed with emphysema surpassed the number of diagnosed men. When it comes to fatalities, COPD now claims the lives of more women per year than men.