Chronic cough is a common complaint in the general population but there are no precise data on the incidence of, and prospectively examined risk factors for chronic cough in a population-based setting. Therefore, we investigated the period prevalence, incidence and risk factors for chronic cough in adult subjects.In a prospective population-based cohort study among subjects aged ≥45 years, data on chronic cough were collected on two separate occasions using a standardised questionnaire. Chronic cough was defined as daily coughing for at least 3 months duration during the preceding 2 years. Potential risk factors were gathered by interview, physical examination and several investigations.Of the 9824 participants in this study, 1073 (10.9%) subjects had chronic cough at baseline. The prevalence of chronic cough increased with age and peaked in the eighth decade. In subjects aged <70 years, chronic cough was more common in women. During an average follow-up of 6 years, 439 incident cases of chronic cough occurred with an overall incidence rate of 11.6 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 10.6–12.8). In current smokers, the incidence of chronic cough was higher in men. In the multivariable analysis, current smoking, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), asthma and COPD were identified as risk factors for chronic cough.Chronic cough is common among adults and highly prevalent in the older population. Current smoking, GORD, asthma and COPD are independent risk factors for chronic cough. Individuals at risk of developing chronic cough may benefit from smoking cessation and control of the underlying disease.

BackgroundSince chronic cough has common neurobiological mechanisms and pathophysiology with chronic pain, both clinical disorders might be interrelated. Hence, we examined the association between chronic cough and chronic pain in adult subjects in the Rotterdam Study, a large prospective population-based cohort study.MethodsUsing a standardised questionnaire, chronic pain was defined as pain lasting up to 6 months and grouped into a frequency of weekly/monthly or daily pain. Chronic cough was described as daily coughing for at least 3 months duration. The longitudinal and cross-sectional associations were investigated bi-directionally.ResultsOf 7141 subjects in the study, 54% (n=3888) reported chronic pain at baseline. The co-prevalence of daily chronic pain and chronic cough was 4.4%. Chronic cough was more prevalent in subjects with daily and weekly/monthly chronic pain compared with those without chronic pain (13.8% and 10.3% versus 8.2%, p<0.001). After adjustment for potential confounders, prevalent chronic pain was significantly associated with incident chronic cough (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.08–1.99). The association remained significant in subjects with daily chronic pain (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.06–2.11) with a similar effect estimate, albeit non-significant, in those with weekly/monthly chronic pain (OR 1.43, 95% CI 0.98–2.10). After adjustment for covariables, subjects with chronic cough had a significant risk of developing chronic pain (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.02–2.62) compared with those without chronic cough.ConclusionChronic cough and chronic pain confer risk on each other among adult subjects, indicating that both conditions might share common risk factors and/or pathophysiologic mechanisms.

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BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that sarcopenia and a higher systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) are linked with morbidity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, whether these two conditions contribute to all-cause mortality in middle-aged and older patients with COPD or asthma is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the association between sarcopenia, SII, COPD, or asthma and all-cause mortality in a large-scale population-based setting.MethodsBetween 2009 and 2014, 4482 participants (aged>55 years, 57.3% female) from the population-based Rotterdam Study were included. COPD and asthma patients were clinically and spirometry-based diagnosed. Six study groups were defined according to the presence or absence of COPD or asthma and sarcopenia. Cox regression models were used to assess all-cause mortality in the study groups, adjusted for sex, age, BMI, SII, smoking, oral corticosteroid use and comorbidities. In addition, all participants were categorised into sex-specific quartiles of SII and mortality in these groups was compared.ResultsOver a median follow-up of 6.1 years (IQR 5.0–7.2), 466 (10.4%) persons died. Independent of the presence of sarcopenia, participants with COPD had a higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 2.13 [95% CI: 1.46 to 3.12], and HR: 1.70 [95% CI: 1.32 to 2.18]). Compared to lower SII levels, higher SII levels increased mortality risk even in people without sarcopenia, COPD or asthma.ConclusionMiddle-aged and older people with COPD, higher SII levels or sarcopenia had an independently increased mortality risk. Our study suggests prognostic usefulness of routinely evaluating sarcopenia and SII in older people with COPD or asthma.

BackgroundChronic cough is a debilitating medical condition that is often complicated by psychomorbidities such as depressive symptoms. Nevertheless, little is known about the impact of chronic cough on the risk of developing depression. Therefore, we investigated the association between chronic cough and prevalent, incident, as well as recurrent depression in a population-based sample of middle-aged and older persons.MethodsWithin the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort, we defined chronic cough as reporting daily coughing for at least 3 months. Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale, clinical interviews, and medical records. Associations between chronic cough and depression were determined with linear, logistic and Cox regression analyses.ResultsThe study included 5877 participants (mean age±standard deviation: 72±8 years, 59% female) who contributed 37 287 person-years of follow-up. At baseline, participants with chronic cough reported more depressive symptoms (adjusted standardised mean difference 0.15, 95% CI 0.07–0.22) compared to those without chronic cough. Over time, chronic cough was associated with an increased risk of depression in participants with a history of depression (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.13–1.84) but not in those without a history of depression (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.68–1.22).ConclusionsAdults with chronic cough have a disproportionate burden of depressive symptoms and an increased risk of recurrent depression. This highlights the importance of screening for depression in patients with chronic cough.

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