Health-Related Quality of Life in Chronic Cough: A Comparative Analysis With Other Chronic Diseases

Chronic cough (CC), defined as a cough lasting more than 8 weeks, significantly impairs the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Despite its prevalence, the relative disease burden of CC compared with that of other chronic diseases remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the HRQoL of patients with CC to those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis (HD) and healthy controls.

This multicenter observational study compared HRQoL of 203 patients with CC to 152 with chronic disease (50 with RA, 53 with DM on insulin, 49 with CKD on HD) and 41 healthy controls. Participants completed the Leicester cough questionnaire and the short-form 36 (SF-36) to assess disease-specific and generic HRQoL, respectively.

Patients with CC demonstrated significantly lower SF-36 scores compared to healthy controls (65.9 ± 18.9 vs. 81.5 ± 10.1, P < 0.001), with scores similar to those of patients with RA (65.2 ± 21.0) and DM (67.8 ± 17.4). Patients with moderate-to-severe CC experienced HRQoL impairments similar to patients with CKD on HD, especially in mental health domains. Patients with CC had the most pronounced impairments in vitality, role-physical, and social functioning compared to healthy controls.

CC imposes a substantial burden comparable to or exceeding that of other chronic diseases. The mental health impairment in patients with moderate-to-severe CC emphasizes the psychological impact of CC. Therefore, further longitudinal research is required to explore the impact of tailored interventions on HRQoL outcomes.