Allergic Rhinitis Study - Factors in Teens

A German study of Allergic Rhinitis (AR) in adolescence reveals that AR can be predicted with a degree of certainty.The study of 2810 prepubescent children followed into adolescence  compiled by Jessica Kellberger, Dipl-Stat, from the University Hospital of Munich, Germany, and colleagues shows the strongest predictors of AR is positive skin-prick tests for outdoor allergens.

"Our prediction models indicate a substantial increase in the likelihood of new onset of AR in girls with high socioeconomic status and parental history of asthma who have not been exclusively breast-fed for 2 or more months and who presented with a positive [skin-prick test] response to both outdoor and indoor allergens at age 9 to 11 years," they write."The risk factors indicated in our study are in accordance with those of other studies. However, thus far, none of these studies have used the information for individual prediction of disease course."

Reaction to the findings suggest the positive allergy test may help in answering is it a cold or allergies question when dealing with a specific patient's health.

"I think this paper is probably more useful to general pediatric practitioners, because they are the ones who eventually tell the difference between colds and allergic rhinitis when deciding to make the referral and when to look further to see what the patient's allergic to," said Weihong Zheng, MD, an allergist at Tufts Medical Center and assistant professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Zheng was not involved in the study.

The study's abstract is available here: http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749%2811%2901317-0/abstractIf you have questions about Allergic Rhinitis in adults or children- contact my office for a consultation 866-632-5537.