Cough Affects Lives In Different Ways

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 06 Aug 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Cough is a symptom of many respiratory diseases; however, a new study shows that chronic cough may affect quality of life differently, based on a patient's disease.

Researchers from Ireland administered three health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaires to 147 outpatients (chronic cough, n=83; COPD, n=18; asthma, n=20; and bronchiectasis, n=26).

Although the magnitude of cough-specific HRQoL impairment was similar among all groups of respiratory disease, subdomain scores revealed that patients with chronic cough suffer from more psychosocial issues than patients with bronchiectatics, but they have less functional impairment than patients with COPD.

Furthermore, there was a significant difference in generic health status across the four disease groups, with the poorest health status in patients with COPD. This study is published in the August issue of the journal CHEST.

This study is published in the August issue of the journal CHEST.

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CHEST is the official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). Each month it features cutting edge original research in the multidisciplinary specialties of chest medicine, such as pulmonology, critical care, sleep medicine, cardiorespiratory interactions, thoracic surgery, transplantation, airways disease, and more. CHEST also features Recent Advances, Topics in Practice Management, Medical Writing Tips, Pearls, Chest Imaging and Pathology for Clinicians, Contemporary Reviews, and much, much more. Editorials and communications to the editor explore controversial issues and encourage further discussion by physicians dealing with chest medicine. More than 30,000 readers worldwide turn to CHEST each month to keep up-to-date on the latest in chest-related medicine.

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