Risk factors of chronic cough in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Risk factors of chronic cough in China have not been systematically analyzed and we hypothesized that risk factors of chronic cough might have distinct characteristics in China. Hence, we performed this meta-analysis focusing on the potential risk factors of chronic cough in China.

Areas Covered: This systematic review was performed to explore the risk factors of chronic cough in accordance with the PRISMA checklist. Seven databases were searched for published articles using predefined inclusion criteria. A total of 33 eligible articles were identified and included in this systematic review, and 28 studies were included in the meta-analysis.

Expert Commentary: The study indicated that allergy, nasal/sinusitis diseases, family history of allergy, family history of chronic respiratory diseases, exposure to pollutants, passive smoking, and exposure to pets were risk factors for chronic cough in China. Although several potential risk factors (e.g.: sex and BMI) were not explore for the limited information in the included articles, this paper provides useful epidemiological information for managing chronic cough not only in China but around the world.