RecruitingOBSERVATIONAL

Impact of Chronic Cough on Activities of Daily Living and Response to Acute High-intensity Exercise

If you have a chronic cough, you know it can really affect your life. This study aims to understand how an ongoing cough impacts everyday activities, such as how much you move around or do normal tasks. Researchers want to compare people with a chronic cough to healthy people their same age, gender, and weight, to see if the cough limits their physical activity. The study also wants to find out if a short burst of intense exercise changes how often or how severely you cough right after. By understanding these things better, we hope to learn more about how chronic cough affects people and potentially find ways to help in the future.

At a glance

Status

Recruiting

Sponsor

University of Leeds

Enrolment target

129

Start

01 Dec 2024

Estimated completion

01 Dec 2026

Chronic Cough (CC)

What is this study about?

Many people worldwide experience a chronic cough, which is a cough that lasts a long time – usually more than 8 weeks. It's not just annoying; it can make you feel tired, cause chest pain, and even lead to feelings of sadness or worry. Sometimes, an ongoing cough can make people avoid social situations or feel less confident doing everyday things, like going for a walk or playing with their kids. This study aims to understand these effects better.

The main goal is to see if having an unexplained chronic cough changes how physically active people are in their daily lives. We will compare people with a chronic cough to healthy individuals of the same age, gender, and body size to see if the cough genuinely limits their ability to move around and do everyday tasks. This comparison will help us understand the real-world impact of chronic cough on activity levels.

Another important part of this study is to look at how a short period of intense exercise affects coughing. We want to find out if doing some exercise makes a cough more or less frequent or severe straight after. This information could be very useful for understanding how physical activity interacts with chronic cough, which might help in developing better advice or treatments in the future.

Key takeaways

Researchers want to understand how ongoing cough affects daily life.
The study will compare activity levels of people with cough to healthy individuals.
It will also check if a short burst of intense exercise changes cough frequency or severity.
You need to have an unexplained chronic cough (over 8 weeks) that is quite bothersome.
Certain medical conditions, recent infections, or medications might prevent participation.
Taking part helps us learn more about chronic cough for future improvements.

Who may be eligible?

To join this study, you need to be over 18 years old and have been experiencing a cough for at least 8 weeks that isn't easily explained. Your cough should also be quite bothersome, as measured by a specific health score. We will also need to check a recent chest X-ray or scan to make sure there are no other major problems contributing to your cough.

There are certain reasons why you might not be able to take part. For example, if you smoke or have stopped very recently (within the last year), or if you have a history of heavy smoking. We also can't include people who have had Long-COVID or a recent chest infection or a flare-up of their cough in the past month.

Additionally, if you're taking certain medications like specific blood pressure drugs (ACE inhibitors) or strong cough medicines, or if you've recently started or changed treatments for conditions like reflux that could cause cough, you might not be suitable. People with a history of asthma, COPD, or certain other health conditions that might interfere with the study or make participation unsafe would also not be able to join.

Quick self-check

Are you 18 years old or older?
Have you had a cough for more than 8 weeks that isn't easily explained?
Does your cough bother you quite a lot?
Have you had a recent chest X-ray or scan that was normal, or didn't show anything causing your cough?
Do you currently smoke, or have you quit within the last year, or have a significant smoking history?
Have you had a chest infection or a bad flare-up of your cough in the last 4 weeks?

This is a guide only — the research team will confirm whether you can take part.

What does participation involve?

Details about what taking part involves are not fully described in the brief summary. However, based on the study aims, you would likely have an initial visit for screening to confirm you meet the study criteria. This would involve discussing your medical history, your cough symptoms, and potentially reviewing recent scans. If eligible, you would likely wear a device, like a special watch, that tracks your daily physical activity for a period of time to measure how active you are during your usual routine. There would also be a session where you perform some high-intensity exercise, and researchers would monitor your cough before and after this exercise. The total duration of your involvement could range from a few days for activity monitoring to a few weeks for initial screening and the exercise session, but specific timings are not provided. You wouldn't be given any new medication as part of this study.

Potential risks and benefits

Taking part in any study has potential benefits and risks. A potential benefit of this study is that you would contribute to a better understanding of how chronic cough affects people's daily lives and how it responds to exercise. This knowledge could help doctors and researchers develop better ways to support people with long-term cough in the future. As for risks, since you'll be doing some high-intensity exercise, there's a small chance of feeling more tired or potentially experiencing a temporary increase in your cough during or shortly after the exercise. However, the study will have medical staff present, and safety checks are in place to minimise any risks. You will always have the right to withdraw from the study at any time, for any reason, without it affecting your medical care.

Locations (1)

University of Leeds
Leeds, United Kingdom· Recruiting

Common questions

What is 'chronic cough' in this study?

In this study, a chronic cough means a cough that has lasted for more than 8 weeks.

Will I have to take any new medicines?

No, this study does not involve giving you any new medications.

What kind of exercise will I do?

You'll do a short burst of 'high-intensity exercise,' but the specific type isn't detailed here.

How long will I be in the study?

The information provided doesn't state the exact length, but it would likely involve an initial check, followed by monitoring your daily activity and a single exercise session.

Will this study help my cough?

This study aims to understand chronic cough better, which could lead to better treatments in the future. It's not designed to be a treatment for your cough itself.

How to find out more

Oliver J Price, PhD

o.price1@leeds.ac.uk +44(0)113 343 2909 Official trial record

Always speak to your GP or specialist before deciding to take part in a study.