Epidemiological Associations Between Chronic  Cough and Diarrhea among Adults in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis of NHANES Data

Based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), this study analyzed the association between chronic cough and chronic diarrhea in 7,007 adults aged 40 years and older. Results showed that 8.81% of participants had chronic diarrhea, and after adjusting for confounders such as smoking and sleep by binary logistic regression, patients with chronic cough had a 50% increased risk of chronic diarrhea compared to those without cough (OR = 1.50).9 Subgroup analyses showed that none of the covariates (e.g., age, gender) interacted with the outcome significantly (p > 0.05 by interaction test), suggesting that these factors influenced the outcome independently rather than through an interaction. This study demonstrated for the first time in a large population the positive correlation between chronic cough and chronic diarrhea, supporting the “lung-gut axis” theory and emphasizing the need for synergistic interventions for gastrointestinal symptoms in the management of chronic cough.9 The results of this study provide new perspectives for the integrated management of the two co-morbidities in the clinical setting, including the synergistic effects of psychosocial co-morbidities, therapeutic strategies, and the potential for microbiological interventions. synergistic effects and the potential for microbial intervention.