ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Family Medicine and Primary Care
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1460929
This article is part of the Research TopicComprehensive Insights into Respiratory Virus Pathogenesis, Prophylaxis, Clinical Manifestations, and DiagnosticsView all 7 articles
Post-infectious cough in patients with obesity: An observational study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nanchong Fifth People’s Hospital, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China
- 2Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China
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Background: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) can lead to post-infectious cough (PIC). It is currently unclear the current status and influencing factors of PIC in patients with obesity.Methods: Data were collected from patients who visited the institution's bariatric surgery clinic, between June and November 2022, but did not undergo surgery. Follow-up calls will be conducted in early January 2023, and whether these patients develop URTI and cough in December 2022 will be recorded. For patients with URTI and cough, the occurrence of accompanying symptoms during the course of the disease will be recorded. Then, in late February 2023, we will assess whether the cough or other accompanying symptoms have completely resolved within 8 weeks. Logistic regression analyzed the influencing factors of URTI developing into PIC in obese patients. Subgroup analyzes were used to assess interaction effects.Results: Out of 286 study participants, 54 (18.9%) had a PIC. Waist circumference (WC) [odds ratio (OR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.12], homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (OR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.15-1.98), and vomiting during the acute phase (OR 3.42, 95% CI: 1.39-8.4) were associated with PIC in patients with obesity. Vomiting during the acute phase (p for interaction=0.033) can affect the risk of WC to PIC.Conclusions: WC, insulin resistance, and vomiting during the acute phase are risk factors for PIC in patients with obesity. Reducing visceral fat and increasing insulin sensitivity in obese patients may help alleviate the burden of PIC.
Keywords: Post-infectious cough, upper respiratory tract infection, Insulin Resistance, Obesity, Interaction
Received: 07 Jul 2024; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xian, zhang, Kong and song. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yin Xian, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nanchong Fifth People’s Hospital, Nanchong, 637100, Sichuan Province, China
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