PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Marie-Pierre F. Strippoli
AU  - Anina M. Pescatore
AU  - Ben D. Spycher
AU  - Caroline S. Beardsmore
AU  - Michael Silverman
AU  - Claudia E. Kuehni
TI  - Natural history of recurrent cough in children
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - p1495
VI  - 38
IP  - Suppl 55
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1495.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p1495.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Aims: Recurrent cough (RC) is common in childhood and an important cause of primary care visits. Despite that, data on the natural history of recurrent cough in unselected children are scarce.Methods: In a population-based cohort in Leicestershire (UK) we measured recurrent cough (defined as chronic night cough + cough apart from colds + GP visits for cough) with repeated questionnaires. For non-wheezers, we computed frequency of recurrent cough at different ages, and determined predictors of RC in multivariable logistic regressions.Results: We had data on 1247 children aged 1 year, and data on 1127, 1267, 1410, 825 aged 2, 4, 6 and 9 years respectively. Prevalence of RC at these ages was 17%, 19%, 21%, 16% and 12% respectively. Of all children with RC at age 1 year, 62% continued to report RC at age 2 years, and 46%, 35%, 28% at age 4, 6 and 9 years. Factors associated with RC at all ages were: south Asian ethnicity, chronic rhinitis and frequent snoring. Other factors associated with RC during the first 2 years of life were nursery care and posseting. In contrast, attendance to nursery care in infancy protected from RC at age 6 and 9 years. Associations with family history of atopy were marginal.Conclusions: Recurrent cough is common and tracks strongly during childhood. At all ages, there are strong associations with upper respiratory symptoms. This might be explained by an increased susceptibility to upper respiratory infections.Funding: SNF 3200B0-122341; SNF PDFMP3-123162.