Prevalence of Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Patients With Chronic Cough and Relatively Low BMI
- 1Division of Respiratory Medicine, Kobe University Hospital, Kobe, Japan
- 2Division of Respiratory Medicine, Akashi Medical Center, Akashi, Japan
- 3Division of Respiratory Medicine, Kakogawa Central City Hospital, Kakogawa, Japan
Abstract
Background/Aim: Recent studies have suggested an association between chronic cough and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of suspected OSA and describe associated clinical characteristics among Japanese adults with chronic cough.
Patients and Methods: Outpatients with chronic cough were recruited from three Japanese institutions between March 2023 and February 2025. Eligible participants were ≥20 years old with a cough lasting >8 weeks. Overnight home sleep apnea testing was performed to assess the respiratory event index (REI), and suspected OSA was defined as an REI ≥5 events/h. Cough-related symptoms were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Japanese version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (J-LCQ), and daytime sleepiness was evaluated using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). REI was compared across causes of chronic cough. Patients were stratified by REI ≥15 events/h. Correlations between the REI and age, body mass index (BMI), VAS score, and J-LCQ score were evaluated.
Results: This study enrolled 23 patients (median age, 56.0 years; 11 men). The median BMI was 25.2 kg/m2. Suspected OSA was present in 20 patients (87.0%), despite a median ESS score of 7.0. The median REI was 15.6 events/h and was elevated regardless of the cause of chronic cough. REI ≥ 15 events/h was associated with older age (p=0.04), whereas BMI did not differ significantly between the groups. J-LCQ scores were not significantly associated with the REI.
Conclusion: REI was high in patients with chronic cough, suggesting a high prevalence of suspected OSA despite their relatively low BMI. These findings suggest obesity-independent mechanisms and support OSA screening even in patients without daytime sleepiness.
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BibTeX
@article{iwamoto2026prevalence,
title = {{Prevalence of Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Patients With Chronic Cough and Relatively Low BMI}},
author = {NATSUHIKO IWAMOTO and NAOKO KATSURADA and KAYOKO OKAMURA and TERUAKI NISHIUMA and MIZUKI TAKAYASU and TATSUYA NAGANO},
journal = {In Vivo},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.21873/invivo.14521},
url = {https://doi.org/10.21873/invivo.14521},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Prevalence of Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Patients With Chronic Cough and Relatively Low BMI
AU - NATSUHIKO IWAMOTO
AU - NAOKO KATSURADA
AU - KAYOKO OKAMURA
AU - TERUAKI NISHIUMA
AU - MIZUKI TAKAYASU
AU - TATSUYA NAGANO
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - In Vivo
DO - 10.21873/invivo.14521
UR - https://doi.org/10.21873/invivo.14521
AB - Background/Aim: Recent studies have suggested an association between chronic cough and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of suspected OSA and describe associated clinical characteristics among Japanese adults with chronic cough. Patients and Methods: Outpatients with chronic cough were recruited from three Japanese institutions between March 2023 and February 2025. Eligible participants were ≥20 years old with a cough lasting >8 weeks. Overnight home sleep apnea testing was performed to assess the respiratory event index (REI), and suspected OSA was defined as an REI ≥5 events/h. Cough-related symptoms were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Japanese version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (J-LCQ), and daytime sleepiness was evaluated using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). REI was compared across causes of chronic cough. Patients were stratified by REI ≥15 events/h. Correlations between the REI and age, body mass index (BMI), VAS score, and J-LCQ score were evaluated. Results: This study enrolled 23 patients (median age, 56.0 years; 11 men). The median BMI was 25.2 kg/m2. Suspected OSA was present in 20 patients (87.0%), despite a median ESS score of 7.0. The median REI was 15.6 events/h and was elevated regardless of the cause of chronic cough. REI ≥ 15 events/h was associated with older age (p=0.04), whereas BMI did not differ significantly between the groups. J-LCQ scores were not significantly associated with the REI. Conclusion: REI was high in patients with chronic cough, suggesting a high prevalence of suspected OSA despite their relatively low BMI. These findings suggest obesity-independent mechanisms and support OSA screening even in patients without daytime sleepiness.
SN - 0258-851X
SN - 1791-7549
ER -