Analysis of risk factors for developing cough in troops stationed at high altitudes

TANG Jun; ZHENG Ziyu; YANG Zhengdong; GUO Jianying; WANG Tao; WEN Ling; ZHANG Gang; ZHONG Haixing; SU Binxiao

doi:10.13276/j.issn.2097-1656.2024.04.010

Abstract：Objective To investigate the prevalence of cough and related risk factors in troops stationed in high-altitude and cold environments.Methods From November 2022 to April 2023,a self-administered survey questionnaire was distributed to officers and soldiers stationed at different altitudes to conduct an epidemiological investigation of prevalence of cough.Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the related risk factors for cough in stationed troops.Results A total of 1 514 officers and soldiers stationed at high altitudes were investigated,among which 499 coughed within three months,with a prevalence of 32.96％.Univariate analysis revealed that factors such as hometown region,altitude,body mass index,Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)score,years of working at high altitudes,previous history of high-altitude cough,history of allergy,history of asthma,history of allergic rhinitis,history of chronic rhinitis,and history of chronic pharyngitis were potential influencing factors for high-altitude cough(P＜0.05).After adjusting confounding factors,a multivariate logistic regression analysis further indicated that altitude of 4 000-5 000 m(OR=2.514,95％CI:1.457～4.339),smoking history(OR=1.406,95％CI:1.098-1.799),years of working at high altitudes(OR=0.967,95％CI:0.936-0.990),SAS(OR=2.491,95％CI:1.776-3.494),previous history of high-altitude cough(OR=5.278,95％CI:3.938-7.074),history of chronic rhinitis(OR=1.520,95％CI:1.075-2.515),and history of chronic pharyngitis(OR=1.856,95％CI:1.191-2.894)were significantly correlated with cough in troops stationed at high altitudes.Conclusion The prevalence of cough(within 3 months at the time of investigation)is 32.96％in troops stationed at high altitudes.Altitude,smoking history,previous history of high-altitude cough,SAS score,history of chronic rhinitis,and history of chronic pharyngitis are risk factors for high-altitude cough,while years of working at high-altitudes serve as a protective factor.