Odds elevated for chronic cough in patients with asthma

Key takeaways:

• More patients with vs. without asthma reported chronic cough.
• The likelihood for chronic cough increased among patients with asthma.

WASHINGTON — Patients with asthma face heightened odds for chronic cough, according to data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.

Using data from an online survey, Pedro Martins, MD, PhD, assistant professor with habilitation at the Comprehensive Health Research Center at NOVA University Lisbon, and colleagues assessed 2,277 adults (mean age, 51.5 years; 59.5% women) from health centers in Lisbon to find out how chronic cough — cough for more than 8 weeks — is linked to asthma, classified as asthma and wheeze in the past 12 months.

Of the total cohort, 9.4% of adults reported chronic cough, and 9% reported asthma.

Researchers found that more patients with vs. without asthma had chronic cough (14% vs. 8.5%; P = .007), and this aligns with the finding that patients with asthma had significantly higher odds for chronic cough (OR = 1.8; 95% CI, 1.82-2.74) in multivariable analysis.

In addition to asthma, researchers looked at age, sex, education level, BMI, smoking habits and dampness at home in relation to chronic cough and found a significant link between age and chronic cough (OR = 1.02; 95% CI, 1-1.03).

“Asthmatic patients are more likely to report chronic cough, but other causes should be considered when investigating this symptom,” Martins and colleagues wrote.

Reference:

Martins P, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024;doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2023.11.093.