Chronischer Reizhusten bei Frauen: Zusammenhang mit postmenopausalen Beschwerden beim klimakterischen Syndrom?

Estrogens are steroid hormones that have multiple effects on the entire body. With the lack of estrogen in menopause, the mucous membranes also change. Decrease in tissue turgor, mucosal thickness, hyaluronic acid, water retention and collagen content are possible causes of postmenopausal atrophic changes in the epithelium. The mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and lung function are equally estrogen-dependent. Menopausal women often report an unproductive cough, which, after ruling out possible causes, usually has to be classified as idiopathic. With these aspects in mind, the question arises whether the postmenopausal estrogen deficiency leads to an increased incidence of coughs. In order to evaluate the connection between menopausal symptoms and coughing, a questionnaire-based cohort study was carried out in 200 generally healthy postmenopausal women aged 45-65 years. Women with coughs of known origin were excluded. Comorbidities, medication and basic data were recorded. Menopause Rating Scale II (MRS II) was used to measure climacteric complaints, and possible respiratory complaints were recorded using the Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ). The groups were divided into chronically coughing and non-coughing participants, with cough being defined by the temporal aspect of a subjective symptomatic lasting at least eight weeks. Sixty-six out of 200 women (33%) reported mild to severe symptoms of chronic cough. In the basic data (age, BMI, onset of menopause, years since menopause, number of previous diseases and medication intake) no significant differences were found between coughing and non-coughing women. Patients with cough described more intense menopausal symptoms with significant differences in the genitourinary and somatovegetative MRS domains (p <0.001). In addition, there were strong correlations between postmenopausal symptoms and cough (p <0.001). A logistic regression analysis showed a significant predictability of cough based on the presence of somatovegetative and urogenital postmenopausal symptoms (p <0.05). Therefore, chronic cough as a possible climacteric symptom and the causalities of these correlations should be researched in more detail. Because in the future, this form of chronic cough could possibly be countered with education and new therapy concepts that include and integrate the hormonal changes in postmenopausal women.