Impact of allergic rhinitis on the day-to-day lives of children: Insights from an Australian cross-sectional study

Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevich* (Corresponding Author), Peter Smith, Michael J. Abramson, Charlotte Hespe, Menai Johnson, Rodney Stosic, David Price

*Corresponding author for this work

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5 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Study design and objective: Cross-sectional, observational survey to describe the impact of allergic rhinitis (AR) on Australian children (2-15 years).Methods: Participants (N=1541), parents of children aged 2–15 years, providedinformation on behalf of themselves and one eligible child in their household using a custom-built online questionnaire. Children were allocated to case (AR) or control (No AR) analysis groups based on a validated screening questionnaire. Statistical methods: The study sample was stratified on age: primary analysis population (6-15 years, N=1111; AR=797, No AR=314); exploratory population (2-5 years).. The primary endpoint, parent-perceived burden, was quantified using a validated measure of health status and analysed via comparison of means.Results: The majority of AR cases were treated (730/797; 90.3%) and classified as having moderate-severe, intermittent AR (549/797; 68.9%). Half reported adequate symptom control in the prior 2 weeks (389/797; 48.8%; odds ratio=4.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.24 to 7.31). Having AR was associated with worse overall health status (7.4 vs 8.4, mean difference [LSMD]=-0.99; 95%CI -1.18 to -0.79), fewer days being happy (22.2 vs 25.9, LSMD=-3.68; 95%CI -4.82 to -2.54) and more days of poor physical (2.82 vs 0.78, LSMD=2.04; 95%CI 1.61 to 2.47) and emotional(2.14 vs 0.67, LSMD=1.47; 95%CI 1.02 to -1.92) health compared with not havingAR. All of these outcomes were significantly (p<0.05) worse in children who reported inadequate symptom control. Having AR negatively impacted on schoolwork, sleep and other activities, and increased the likelihood of having comorbidities.Conclusion: The parent-perceived burden of AR in Australian children is high and itimpacts many areas of day-to-day living. Inadequate symptom control is a key driver of the extent of this impact. Opportunities to optimise the management of AR in children include the adoption of self-assessment tools to gauge and monitor adequacy of symptom control
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere038870
Number of pages12
JournalBMJ Open
Volume10
Issue number11
Early online date24 Nov 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Nov 2020

Keywords

  • allergy
  • paediatric thoracic medicine
  • quality in health care

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