A Prospective, Multicenter Survey on Causes of Chronic Cough in China

The causes of chronic cough in China and its relations with geography, seasonality, age, and sex are largely uncertain.A prospective, multicenter survey was conducted to evaluate patients with chronic cough across five regions in China by using a modified diagnostic algorithm. The effects of geography, seasonality, age, and sex on spectrum of chronic cough were also investigated.The current study evaluated 704 adult patients, including 315 men (44.7%) and 389 women (55.3%). The causes of chronic cough were determined in 640 subjects (90.9%). Common causes included cough variant asthma (CVA) (32.6%), upper airway cough syndrome (UACS) (18.6%), eosinophilic bronchitis (EB) (17.2%), and atopic cough (AC) (13.2%). Collectively, these four causes accounted for 75.2% to 87.6% across five different regions without significant difference (P > .05), although there was variation on single causes. Gastroesophageal reflux-related cough was identified in 4.6% of causes. Seasonality, sex, and age were not associated with the spectrum of chronic cough (all P > .05).CVA, UACS, EB, and AC were common causes of chronic cough in China. Geography, seasonality, age, and sex were not associated with the spectrum of chronic cough.