A Prospective Study to Compare Clinical Outcomes of Allergic Rhinitis Between Older and Younger Adults: A Potential Effect of Depression in Older Patients

Determinants of uncontrolled allergic rhinitis in Kinshasa hospitals

Objective

To identify the determinants of uncontrolled allergic rhinitis (UCAR) in a hospital setting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Methods

Hospital-based cross-sectional study of 153 patients with allergic rhinitis (AR). The diagnosis of AR was based on clinical grounds according to the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) criteria. Categorization into controlled AR (CAR) and UCAR was based on the visual analog scale (VAS with cut off point of 5). Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with UCAR.

Results

Patients with UCAR (60.1%) proportionally outnumbered those with CAR (39.9%). There were significantly more patients younger than 30 years of age among patients with UCAR. Factors significantly associated with UCAR were age below 30 years (OR = 3.31; 95% CI: 1.49-7.36; p = 0.003), low serum vitamin D level (OR = 3.86; 95% CI: 1.72-8.68; p = 0.001), persistent form (OR = 3.11; 95% CI: 1.39-6.98; p = 0.006) and moderate to severe form of AR (OR = 4.31; 95% CI: 1.77-10.49; p = 0.001).

Conclusions

Factors associated with UCAR in this study population were younger age less than 30 years, low vitamin D level, and persistent as well as moderate to severe AR. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms favoring the occurrence of these factors.

A prospective study on the difference of clinical outcomes between elderly and adult patients with allergic rhinitis

OBJECTIVE

The guiding significance of existing guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and health management of AR in elderly patients is unclear. The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics and therapeutic effects of elderly and adult AR patients by prospective study.

METHODS

A total of 131 AR patients were recruited and divided into elderly group and adult group according to age. After receiving the same pharmacological treatment for 4 weeks, the differences of the two groups in clinical scores including TNSS-4, RQLQ and VAS were compared.

RESULTS

After 4 weeks treatment, all clinical scores in the adult group were improved compared with the baseline levels, while in the elderly group, only the TNSS-4 score was significantly reduced, and the RQLQ and VAS scores were not significantly improved. The changes of TNSS-4, RQLQ, and VAS scores in the elderly group were significantly inferior to those in the adult group (LS mean differences were 1.60, 8.80, and 11.10, respectively; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We confirmed that elderly and adult AR patients had different clinical characteristics and outcomes, and the degree of improvement in the adult group was significantly better than that in the elderly group. Therefore, it is urgent for us to establish a clinical guideline suitable for the elderly AR population to give more scientific and reasonable recommendations for diagnosis and treatment.