Table 2.
Prevalence of cough triggers in different causes among 1211 subjects with chronic cough.
| Variables | Total (n = 1211) | Asthma (n = 240) | EB (n = 277) | UACS (n = 90) | GERC (n = 189) | AC (n = 71) | Other Cause (n = 138) | RCC (n = 206) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 644 (53.2) | 173 (72.1)* | 140 (50.5) $ | 40 (44.4) $ | 84 (44.4) $ | 31 (43.7) $ | 81 (58.7)* $ | 95 (46.1) $ | <0.001 |
| Age, Median (Q1, Q3) | 40.0 (31.0, 52.0) | 45.0 (34.8, 56.0)* | 39.0 (31.0, 52.0)* $ | 37.0 (29.0, 47.0) $ | 38.0 (30.0, 49.0) $ | 39.0 (30.0, 49.5)* $ | 38.0 (30.0, 52.0)* $ | 39.0 (30.0, 50.0) $ | <0.001 |
| Duration month, Median (Q1, Q3) | 24.0 (9.3, 82.5) | 24.0 (9.8, 80.0)* $ ‡ | 24.0 (6.0, 84.0)* ‡ | 24.0 (6.3, 72.0)* $ ‡ | 36.0 (12.0, 84.0) $ ‡ | 36.0 (12.0, 84.0)* $ ‡ | 18.0 (5.3, 57.0)* | 36.0 (12.0, 96.0) $ | <0.001 |
| Triggers, n (%) | 1107 (91.4) | 208 (86.7)* | 244 (88.1)* | 85 (94.4)* $ | 176 (93.1)* $ | 66 (93.0)* $ | 128 (92.8)* $ | 200 (97.1) $ | 0.001 |
| Number of triggers, Median (Q1, Q3) | 3 (1.0, 4.0) | 2 (1.0, 4.0)* | 2 (1.0, 4.0)* | 3 (2.0, 4.0)*, $ | 3 (2.0, 4.5) $ | 3 (2.0, 4.0)* $ | 3 (2.0, 4.0)* $ | 3 (1.0, 5.0) $ | <0.001 |
| Chemical triggers, n (%) | 810 (66.9) | 149 (62.1) | 180 (65.0) | 60 (66.7) | 131 (69.3) | 48 (67.6) | 94 (68.1) | 148 (71.8) | 0.440 |
| Dust, n (%) | 473 (39.1) | 79 (32.9)* | 96 (34.7)* $ | 39 (43.3)* $ | 76 (40.2)* $ | 28 (39.4)* $ | 69 (50.0) $ | 86 (41.7)* $ | 0.025 |
| Cooking fumes, n (%) | 575 (47.5) | 116 (48.3) | 122 (44.0) | 43 (47.8) | 93 (49.2) | 35 (49.3) | 53 (38.4) | 113 (54.9) | 0.096 |
| Cigarette smoke, n (%) | 543 (44.8) | 95 (39.6) | 124 (44.8) | 38 (42.2) | 93 (49.2) | 35 (49.3) | 59 (42.8) | 99 (48.1) | 0.416 |
| Number of chemical triggers, Median (Q1, Q3) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 3.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 1.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 2.0 (0.0, 2.0) | 0.293 |
| Mechanical triggers, n (%) | 584 (48.2) | 102 (42.5)* | 117 (42.2)* | 45 (50.0)* $ | 110 (58.2) $ | 28 (39.4)* $ | 69 (50.0)* $ | 113 (54.9)* $ | 0.002 |
| Talking, n (%) | 405 (33.4) | 55 (22.9)* | 75 (27.1)* $ | 32 (35.6)* $ ‡ | 77 (40.7) ‡ | 20 (28.2)* $ ‡ | 55 (39.9) $ ‡ | 91 (44.2) ‡ | < 0.001 |
| Exercise, n (%) | 222 (18.3) | 51 (21.2)* | 40 (14.4)* | 8 (8.9)* | 39 (20.6)* | 11 (15.5)* | 33 (23.9)* | 40 (19.4)* | 0.034 |
| Supine position, n (%) | 186 (15.4) | 44 (18.3)* $ | 42 (15.2)* $ | 20 (22.2) $ | 27 (14.3)*, $ | 3 (4.2)* | 16 (11.6)* $ | 34 (16.5)* $ | 0.035 |
| Number of mechanical triggers, Median (Q1, Q3) | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0) | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0)* | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0)* | 0.5 (0.0, 1.0)* | 1.0 (0.0, 1.0)* | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0)* | 1.0 (0.0, 1.0)* | 1.0 (0.0,1.0)* | 0.003 |
| Meal triggers, n (%) | 257 (21.2) | 31 (12.9)* | 38 (13.7)* | 23 (25.6)* $ ‡ | 66 (34.9)‡ | 14 (19.7)* $ ‡ | 22 (15.9)* | 63 (30.6) $ ‡ | <0.001 |
| During meal, n (%) | 99 (8.2) | 14 (5.8) | 17 (6.1) | 10 (11.1) | 23 (12.2) | 4 (5.6) | 11 (8.0) | 20 (9.7) | 0.143 |
| After meal, n (%) | 139 (11.5) | 13 (5.4)* | 17 (6.1)* | 12 (13.3)* $ ‡ | 45 (23.8)‡ | 8 (11.3)* $ ‡ | 9 (6.5)* $ | 35 (17.0) $ ‡ | <0.001 |
| Alcohol, n (%) | 56 (4.6) | 8 (3.3)* | 8 (2.9)* | 6 (6.7)* | 7 (3.7)* | 4 (5.6)* | 4 (2.9)* | 19 (9.2)* | 0.032 |
| Number of meal triggers, Median (Q1, Q3) | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0) | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0)* | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0)* | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0)* $ | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0) $ | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0)* $ | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0)* | 0.0 (0.0, 1.0) $ | <0.001 |
| Thermal trigger-Cold air, n (%) | 613 (50.6) | 126 (52.5) | 138 (49.8) | 49 (54.4) | 93 (49.2) | 39 (54.9) | 62 (44.9) | 106 (51.5) | 0.749 |
| Other triggers, n (%) | 271 (22.4) | 47 (19.6)* $ | 35 (12.6) $ | 14 (15.6)* $ | 46 (24.3)* ‡ | 14 (19.7)* $ ‡ | 40 (29.0)* ‡ | 75 (36.4) ‡ | <0.001 |
| Pharyngeal symptoms, n (%) | 1032 (85.2) | 189 (78.8)* | 254 (91.7) $ | 86 (95.6) $ | 168 (88.9)* $ | 56 (78.9)* | 106 (76.8)* | 173 (84.0)* $ | <0.001 |
| Tickle in the throat, n (%) | 572 (47.2) | 106 (44.2) | 138 (49.8) | 50 (55.6) | 95 (50.3) | 28 (39.4) | 56 (40.6) | 99 (48.1) | 0.169 |
| Tickle below the throat, n (%) | 323 (26.7) | 58 (24.2)* | 88 (31.8)* | 33 (36.7)* | 43 (22.8)* | 13 (18.3)* | 35 (25.4)* | 53 (25.7)* | 0.039 |
| Pharyngeal foreign body sensation, n (%) | 340 (28.1) | 49 (20.4)* $ | 45 (16.2) $ | 36 (40.0) ‡ | 61 (32.3)* ‡ | 21 (29.6)* $ ‡ | 44 (31.9)* ‡ | 84 (40.8) ‡ | <0.001 |
| Frequent throat clearing, n (%) | 440 (36.3) | 65 (27.1)* | 83 (30.0)* | 56 (62.2) $ | 86 (45.5) $ ‡ | 28 (39.4)* $ ‡ | 43 (31.2)* ‡ | 79 (38.3)* ‡ | <0.001 |
| Mucus adhesion to the throat, n (%) | 292 (24.1) | 38 (15.8)* | 34 (12.3)* | 32 (35.6) $ | 55 (29.1) $ | 17 (23.9)* $ | 47 (34.1) $ | 69 (33.5) $ | <0.001 |
| Total (n = 235) | Asthma (n = 40) | EB (n = 52) | UACS (n = 16) | GERC (n = 33) | AC (n = 14) | Other Cause (n = 24) | CRC (n = 56) | ||
| logC5, Median (Q1, Q3) | 1.8 (1.2, 2.7) | 1.8 (1.2, 2.2) | 2.3 (1.4, 3.0) | 2.1 (1.5, 2.7) | 1.8 (0.9, 2.4) | 2.0 (1.6, 2.6) | 1.5 (0.5, 2.1) | 1.8 (1.2, 2.5) | 0.055 |
| Cough hypersensitivity, n (%) | 128 (54.5) | 24 (60.0) | 22 (42.3) | 5 (31.3) | 20 (60.6) | 7 (50.0) | 17 (70.8) | 33 (58.9) | 0.097 |
Data are presented as frequency (percentage) or median (interquartile range). p Values for the post hoc test were adjusted with the Bonferroni method.
*
A subset of different causes of chronic cough categories whose column data do not differ significantly from each other at the 0.05 level.
$
A subset of different causes of chronic cough categories whose column data do not differ significantly from each other at the 0.05 level.
‡
A subset of different causes of chronic cough categories whose column data do not differ significantly from each other at the 0.05 level.
AC, atopic cough; EB, eosinophilic bronchitis; GERC, gastroesophageal reflex-related cough; RCC, refractory chronic cough; UACS, upper airway cough syndrome.