Ana Oliveira, Lab 3R Respiratory Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro (ESSUA), IBMED Aveiro, Portugal; School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Ana Sofia Grave, Lab 3R Respiratory Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Aveiro (ESSUA), IBMED Aveiro, Portugal
Dina Brooks, School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Science, McMaster University, Hamilton; Department of Respiratory Medicine, West Park Healthcare Centre, Toronto, Canada
Imran Satia, Department of Medicine, McMaster University; Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St Joseph’s Healthcare; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; McMaster Institute for Research on Ageing, McMaster University. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Chronic cough affects approximately 10% of adults worldwide with large global variations from 2-18%. Despite its detrimental effects on physical, psychological, and social well-being, there is limited understanding of the specific impacts of chronic cough on individuals’ daily lives. This review summarizes the impact of chronic cough across various life domains, including social interactions, work productivity, physical and psychological functioning, burden of investigations, treatment-related adverse events, and mortality. The review highlights the importance of considering different phenotypes of chronic cough in patient management to enable comprehensive evaluations that incorporate specific patient-reported outcomes for each phenotype. By adopting this approach, a comprehensive assessment can facilitate tailored interventions that improve patient-reported outcomes. Further research is needed to standardize the diagnosis of phenotypes, develop disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures, and conduct well-designed randomized controlled trials to evaluate both disease-specific and nonspecific therapies for individuals with chronic cough.

Keywords: Chronic cough. Impact. Quality of life.