There appears to be an association between cough severity and quality of life (QoL). However, it has not been evaluated if gender difference has an involvement in the impact of cough on QoL. 

A study was conducted recently to explore if the link between cough severity and QoL is altered by gender in patients who have postinfectious cough.

In a multicenter randomized controlled trial, investigators carried out secondary analyses among 180 subjects with postinfectious cough. They aggregated baseline demographics, clinical characteristics and the score of cough specific quality of life questionnaire (CQLQ). Gender difference in CQLQ score and the relation between cough severity and CQLQ score were examined.

In all, there were 104 women and 76 men in the study. The duration of cough was longer in women compared to men (32.6 days vs. 29.3 days). 

• There appeared to be no significant difference between the two genders in CQLQ total score in the unadjusted analysis.
• However, after adjusting for age, duration of cough, severity of cough, and clinical center, women were shown to have a 2.20-point higher CQLQ total score.
• Gender significantly altered the association between cough severity and CQLQ total score, after adjustment for age, cough duration, and study center.
• A 1-point rise in cough severity was tied to a 2.55-point escalation in CQLQ total score in women compared to a 1.26-point increase among men.

The study thus concluded that in postinfectious cough patients, women may have worse QoL compared to men, and their QoL may undergo more pronounced impairment when cough symptom worsens. 

Source: Liu W, Wu Q, Mao B, Jiang H. Gender difference in the association between cough severity and quality of life among patients with postinfectious cough. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2021 Jan 26;19(1):34.