Prevalence and burden of chronic cough in France

Background Chronic cough is a common condition that is associated with lower health-related quality of life and greater healthcare resource use. There are limited data on the prevalence, population characteristics and burden of chronic cough in France. Methods This was a cross-sectional study based on responses from French adult residents to the 2020 National Health and Wellness Survey. Respondents with chronic cough were compared to 1:3 propensity score-matched controls without chronic cough. Results The weighted lifetime and 12-month prevalence of chronic cough were estimated as 7.5% and 4.8%, respectively. Respondents with chronic cough reported significantly worse perceived health than matched controls, with lower mean± sd scores of 46.68±9.28 versus 50.42±8.26 on the physical health component and 40.32±9.87 versus 44.32± 9.69 on the mental health component of the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short Form Survey Version 2 survey (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). Respondents with chronic cough also had higher rates of moderate-to-severe forms of anxiety (24.4% versus 12.4%) and depression (36.4% versus 20.2%); higher rates of multiple forms of sleep disturbance; greater impairment of work productivity (38.2% versus 25.5%) and other activities (41.8% versus 28.2%; p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Respondents with chronic cough also had higher rates of all-cause healthcare resource use including emergency room visits, hospitalisation, and overall and specialist healthcare provider visits compared to controls (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Conclusion Chronic cough is a common condition in France that is associated with lower health-related quality of life and greater healthcare resource utilisation.