Chronic cough, commonly defined as a cough lasting more than 8 weeks, affects a substantial proportion of adults and can significantly impair quality of life. It is often multifactorial in origin, with risk factors including smoking, respiratory disease, gastroesophageal reflux, and medication use. There is also emerging evidence linking chronic cough with psychological comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, and neuroticism. In addition, chronic cough may coexist with broader symptom burdens, including pain across multiple body sites, which may reflect shared underlying mechanisms.
This study aims to estimate the prevalence of chronic cough in the UK Biobank cohort and identify its demographic, clinical, psychological, and symptom-related correlates.
Objectives:
1. To estimate the prevalence of chronic cough in adults aged 40-69 years at baseline.
2. To evaluate associations between chronic cough and known risk factors, including smoking status, asthma, COPD, gastroesophageal reflux, BMI, and environmental exposures.
3. To examine the relationship between chronic cough and psychological traits and conditions, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and neuroticism.
4. To assits ess the association between chronic cough and pain.
Individuals with chronic cough will be identified using self-reported data from the baseline touchscreen questionnaire and follow-up online health surveys (e.g., cough-related questions), and linked to respiratory diagnoses, medications, mental health records, and symptom data.
Multivariable logistic regression models will be used to assess associations between chronic cough and risk factors, including pain-related outcomes, with sensitivity analyses stratified by sex, age, and smoking status.
This study will clarify the burden of chronic cough in a large, general population sample and advance understanding of the interplay between respiratory symptoms, psychological health, and symptom burden.