New research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice found that rhinitis and asthma could be symptoms of a single disease in different parts of the airway.
Subjects for this study included 619 children, between ages 6-17, experiencing greater than 20% poverty, with doctor-diagnosed asthma of any severity or symptoms of asthma with albuterol use within the previous 12 months. Patients were observed over a 12-month period with 4-6 visits.
Rhinitis was diagnosed by questionnaire inquiring about specific symptoms (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, post-nasal drip, and sinus pressure or sinus headache) and doctor diagnosis of hay fever, allergic rhinitis, and allergies in the nose or sinus disease.
Results showed a high prevalence of rhinitis, at 94%. Perennial allergic rhinitis with seasonal exacerbations (PARSE) was the most common and most severe (34.2%), while non-allergic rhinitis was least common and least severe (11.2%).
