Profiles of Cough and Associated Risk Factors in Nonhospitalized Individuals With SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection: Cross-Sectional Online Survey in China.

Background: Cough is a common symptom during and after COVID-19 infection; however, few studies have described the cough profiles of COVID-19.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, severity, and associated risk factors of severe and persistent cough in individuals with COVID-19 during the latest wave of the Omicron variant in China.
Methods: In this nationwide cross-sectional study, we collected information of the characteristics of cough from individuals with infection of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant using an online questionnaire sent between December 31, 2022, and January 11, 2023.
Results: There were 11,718 (n=7978, 68.1% female) nonhospitalized responders, with a median age of 37 (IQR 30-47) years who responded at a median of 16 (IQR 12-20) days from infection onset to the time of the survey. Cough was the most common symptom, occurring in 91.7% of participants, followed by fever, fatigue, and nasal congestion (68.8%-87.4%). The median cough visual analog scale (VAS) score was 70 (IQR 50-80) mm. Being female (odds ratio [OR] 1.31, 95% CI 1.20-1.43), having a COVID-19 vaccination history (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.37-2.12), current smoking (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.41-0.58), chronic cough (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.69-2.45), coronary heart disease (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.17-2.52), asthma (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.02-1.46), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.01-1.45) were independent factors for severe cough (VAS>70, 37.4%). Among all respondents, 35.0% indicated having a productive cough, which was associated with risk factors of being female (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.31-1.57), having asthma (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.52-2.22), chronic cough (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.19-1.74), and GERD (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.47). Persistent cough (>3 weeks) occurred in 13.0% of individuals, which was associated with the risk factors of having diabetes (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.30-3.85), asthma (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.11-2.62), and chronic cough (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.32-2.94).
Conclusions: Cough is the most common symptom in nonhospitalized individuals with Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant infection. Being female, having asthma, chronic cough, GERD, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and a COVID-19 vaccination history emerged as independent factors associated with severe cough, productive cough, and persistent cough.
(©Tingting Xu, Yuehan Chen, Wenzhi Zhan, Kian Fan Chung, Zhongmin Qiu, Kewu Huang, Ruchong Chen, Jiaxing Xie, Gang Wang, Min Zhang, Xuefen Wang, Hongmei Yao, Xiuqing Liao, Yunhui Zhang, Guojun Zhang, Wei Zhang, Dejun Sun, Jia Zhu, Shujuan Jiang, Juntao Feng, Jianping Zhao, Gengyun Sun, Huaqiong Huang, Jianyong Zhang, Lingwei Wang, Feng Wu, Suyun Li, Pusheng Xu, Chunhua Chi, Ping Chen, Mei Jiang, Wen He, Lianrong Huang, Wei Luo, Shiyue Li, Nanshan Zhong, Kefang Lai, China Cough Coalition. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 05.02.2024.)