Articles
  

Quality of Life in the Iranian Adults with Allergic Rhinitis

Abstract

Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is a common global health problem with approximately one quarter of  the  world population  affected. The  Quality of  Life (QOL)  of  sufferers with AR is significantly affected. The aim of this study was to evaluate the QOL of adults with AR. This study was designed for adults with AR above 18 years old. The study was conducted using a valid Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaires (RQLQ) which was completed for each patient during clinic visit and analyzed by applying statistical methods. One-hundred  and ten AR patients participated in this study. Mean age of these patients was 32 years old and 62% were female.
The   correlation  between  severity  of   AR  and  QOL   impairment  was  significant. Frequencies of mild persistent, moderate-severe persistent, mild intermittent and moderate- severe intermittent types of AR were 18%, 34.5%, 9% and 38%, respectively. Completed RQLQ indicated that about 55% of the cases were suffering from severe disturbances in their  QOL.   Furthermore,   congestion  (88%)  was  the  most  common   symptom.  The correlation between congestion and QOL reduction was significant. The correlation between congestion and sleep impairment was significant. AR was more common in young as well as female patients and their QOL  was affected more than the others. The results showed a good relevancy between severity of symptoms and QOL scores.
Consisting with ARIA classification, it was found that reduction in the quality of life is higher in patients with moderate-severe intermittent and persistent asthma. Nasal congestion was a bothersome and prevalent symptom in AR that was responsible for sleep problems. Therefore, nasal congestion was associated with sleep-disordered breathing, nocturnal sleep impairment, day time fatigue and somnolence which finally lead to QOL impairment.

1. Orban NT, Saleh H and Durham a SR. Allergy and Non- Allergic Rhinitis. In: Adkinson NF.Bochner BS. Busse WW. Hoglgate ST, Lemanske Jr RF, Simons FER. Middleton's allergy: principles & practice;vol[2].7th ed. Mosby: Philadelphia. USA: 2009:973-90.
2. Dykewicz M and Hamilos D. Rhinitis and sinusitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2010; 125 (2 Suppl 2):S103-15.
3. Bachert C, van cauwenberge p. The WHO ARIA (allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma) initiative. Chem Immunol allergy 2003; 82:119-26.
4. van Oene CM, van Reij EJ, Sprangers MA, Fokkens WJ. Quality-assessment of disease- Specific quality of life questionnaires for rhinitis and rhino sinustis: a systematic review. J Allergy 2007; 62(12):1359-71.
5. Thompson A, Juniper E, Meltzer E. Quality of life in patients with allergic rhinitis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2000; 85(5):338-48.
6. Bousquet J. Quality of life in allergic diseases, Rev Fr Allergol 1998; 38(Suppl 7):S202-5.
7. Juniper EF, Howland WC, Roberts NB, Thompson AK, King DR. Measuring quality of life in children with rhinoconjunctivitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1998; 101(2 Pt 1):163-70.
8. Juniper E F, Guyatt GH. Development and testing of a new measure of health status for clinical trials in rhinoconjunctvitis. Clin Exp Allergy 1991; 21(1):77-83
9. Valero A. Reference Values for facilitating the interpretation of the ESPRINT-15 questionnaire. J Investing Allergol Clin Immunol 2009; 19(5):396-403.
10. Meltzer EO, Blaiss MS, Derebery MJ, Mahr TA, Gordon BR, Sheth KK, et al. Burden of allergic rhinitis: Results from the pediatric allergies in America Survey. J Allergy clin immunol 2009; 124(Suppl3):S43-70.
11. Mohammadi K, Gharagozlou M, Movahedi M. Allergic rhinitis:clinical and paraclinical aspects in Iranian patients. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol 2008; 7(3):163-7.
12. Lu D, Zhao Y, Zheng Y, An P, Wang L, Qiao X, et al.Evaluation of quality of life questionnaire for adult patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis. Am J oto laryngol 2011; 32(6):494-8.
13. Shiomori T, Udaka T, Hashida K, Fujimura T, Hiraki N, Ueda N, et al. Evaluation of quality of life in patient with allergic rhinitis. J UOEH 2007; 29(2):159-67.
14. Klossek JM, Gohler C, Vervloet D, Deslandes B, Dufour X, Neukirch F. Epidemiology of seasonal spring-time allergic rhinitis in adults in France. Press Med 2005;34(5):348-52.
15. Storms W. Allergic-induced nasal congestion: its impact on sleep quality. Prim care resp J 2008; 17(1):7-18.
16. Lunn M, Criag T. Rhinitis and sleep. Sleep Med Rev 2011; 15(5):293-9.
17. Canova CR, Downs SH, Knoblauch A, Andersson M, Tamm M, Leuppi JD. Increased prevalence of perennial allergic rhinitis in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Respiration 2004; 71(2):138-43.
18. Lavie P, Gertner R, Zomer J, Podoshin L. Breathing disorders in sleep associated with microarousals in patient with allergic rhinitis. Acta Otolaryngol 1981;92(5-6):529-33.
19. Craig TJ, Ferguson BJ, Krouse JH. Sleep impairment in allergic rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, and nasal polyposis. Am J otolaryngol 2008; 29(3):209-17.
20. Camelo-Nunes IC, Solé D. Allergic rhinitis: indictors of quality of life. J Bras pneumol 2010; 36(1):124-33.

Files
IssueVol 11, No 4 (2012) QRcode
SectionArticles
Keywords
Adult Allergic Rhinitis Iran Quality of life
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Shariat M, Pourpak Z, Khalesi M, Kazemnejad A, Sharifi L, Souzanchi G, Movahedi M, Gharagozlou M, Mahlooji M, Moin M. Quality of Life in the Iranian Adults with Allergic Rhinitis. Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1;11(4):324-328.