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Kim, Kang, Jang, Kim, Lim, and Son: Clinical features of allergic rhinitis in Korean children
Original Article

Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease 2015; 3(2): 116-123.

Published online: 24 March 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2015.3.2.116

Clinical features of allergic rhinitis in Korean children

Jae Sook Kim1, Hee Suk Kang2, Hae Ji Jang2, Jeong Hee Kim1, 2, Dae Hyun Lim1, 2, Byong Kwan Son1, 2

1Department of Pediatrics, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.

2Environmental Health Center for Allergic Rhinitis, Inha University Hospital, Incheon, Korea.

Correspondence to: Jeong Hee Kim. Department of Pediatrics, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, 27 Inhang-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon 400-711, Korea. Tel: +82-32-890-2843, Fax: +82-32-890-2844, kimjhmd@inha.ac.kr

Received 15 July 2014       Revised 16 October 2014       Accepted 17 October 2014

© 2015 The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease; The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).

Abstract

Purpose

The characteristics of allergic rhinitis can be different among countries and areas because causative allergens and aggravating factors depend on the living environment. However, there have been few studies on the clinical feature of Korean children with allergic rhinitis, as well as on clinical characteristics in different age groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of Korean children with allergic rhinitis.

Methods

The medical records of children under 12 years of age who had rhinitis symptoms were analyzed in terms of clinical symptoms and positive allergens. Subjects were classified into 2 groups: those with allergic rhinitis (AR group) and nonallergic rhinitis (NAR group). Both groups were subdivided into 3 categories: the 1-4 years, 5-8 years, and 9-12 age groups.

Results

Among 516 children, 397 (76.94%) belonged to the AR group and 119 (23.06%) belonged to the NAR group. The male to female ratios were 2:1 in both groups. There were significant differences in sneezing and itching between the AR and NAR groups across different age subgroups. There were significant differences in nasal obstruction between the AR and NAR groups in the 9-12 age group. The incidence of AR was 77.8 % in chronic sinusitis patients. Sensitized allergens were house dust mites, animal hair, pollen, and mold in decreasing order in the AR group. Children who were sensitized to animal hair more frequently had sneezing than those who were not.

Conclusion

Sneezing and itching strongly suggest allergic rhinitis in Korean children. Clinical characteristics of allergic rhinitis in Korean children would helpful in early diagnosis and adequate treatment of disease.

Keywords: Allergic rhinitis, Nonallergic rhinitis, Allergen, Clinical characteristics

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Sneezing. *Animal hair: dog hair, cat fur - adjusted odds ratio, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.15-3.10.

aard-3-116-g001
Fig. 2

Nasal obstruction. House dust mite: adjusted odds ratio, 2.43; 95% CI, 0.59-10.05.

aard-3-116-g002
Fig. 3

Rhinorrhea. Pollen: adjusted odds ratio, 1.92; 95% CI, 0.70-5.25.

aard-3-116-g003
Fig. 4

Itching.

aard-3-116-g004
Table 1

Characteristics of subjects

aard-3-116-i001
Characteristic 1-4 Years 5-8 Years 9-12 Years P-value*
AR NAR Total AR NAR Total AR NAR Total
Sex
 Male (n = 345) 71 (74.0) 25 (26.4) 96 (65.8) 123 (79.4) 31 (20.1) 154 (67.3) 69 (72.6) 26 (27.4) 95 (67.4)
 Female (n = 171) 38 (76.0) 12 (24.0) 50 (34.3) 60 (80.0) 15 (20.0) 75 (32.8) 36 (78.3) 10 (21.5) 46 (32.6)
Classification 0.011
 Moderate to severe persistent 62 (56.9) 85 (46.5) 66 (62.9)
 Moderate to severe intermittent 9 (8.3) 16 (8.7) 6 (5.7)
 Mild persistent 25 (22.9) 42 (23.0) 26 (24.8)
 Mild intermittent 13 (11.9) 40 (21.9) 7 (6.7)
History of allergic disease 0.088
 Yes 59 (54.1) 14 (37.8) 73 (50.0) 103 (56.3) 19 (41.3) 122 (53.3) 72 (68.6) 16 (44.4) 88 (62.4)
 No 50 (45.9) 23 (62.2) 73 (50.0) 80 (43.7) 27 (58.7) 107 (46.7) 33 (31.4) 20 (55.6) 53 (37.6)
 P-value† 0.087 0.069 0.010
Familial history of allergic disease 0.006
 Father
  Yes 48 (44.0) 12 (32.4) 60 (41.1) 56 (30.6) 19 (41.3) 75 (32.8) 30 (28.6) 3 (8.3) 33 (23.4)
  No 61 (56.0) 25 (67.6) 86 (58.9) 127 (69.4) 27 (58.7) 154 (67.3) 75 (71.4) 33 (91.7) 108 (76.6)
  P-value† 0.215 0.167 0.013
 Mother 0.045
  Yes 45 (41.3) 13 (35.1) 58 (39.7) 72 (39.3) 10 (21.7) 82 (35.8) 31 (29.5) 6 (16.7) 37 (26.2)
  No 64 (58.7) 24 (64.9) 88 (60.3) 111 (60.7) 36 (78.3) 147 (64.2) 74 (70.5) 30 (83.3) 104 (73.8)
  P-value† 0.509 0.026 0.130
 Parents 0.043
  Yes 19 (17.4) 5 (13.5) 24 (16.4) 22 (12.0) 3 (6.5) 25 (10.9) 10 (9.5) 0 (0) 10 (7.1)
  No 90 (82.6) 32 (86.5) 122 (83.6) 161 (88.0) 43 (93.5) 204 (89.1) 95 (90.5) 36 (100) 131 (92.9)
  P-value† 0.579 0.285 0.065

Values are presented as number (%).

AR, allergic rhinitis; NAR, nonallergic rhinitis.

*Cochran-Amitage trend test between the age group. †Chi-square test between AR and NAR in the age group.

Table 2

Clinical features of allergic rhinitis

aard-3-116-i002
Variable 1?? Years 5?? Years 9??2 Years P-value
AR (n=109) NAR (n=37) Total (n=146) P-value AR (n=183) NAR (n=46) Total (n=229) P-value AR (n=105) NAR (n=36) Total (n=141) P-value†
Sneezing 65 (59.6) 10 (27.0) 75 (51.4) <0.001† 121 (66.1) 16 (34.8) 137 (59.8) <0.001† 68 (64.8) 8 (22.2) 76 (53.9) <0.001† 0.429*
0.001‡ <0.001‡ <0.001‡
Nasal obstruction 105 (96.3) 36 (97.3) 141 (96.6) 1.000† 168 (91.8) 39 (84.8) 207 (90.4) 0.164† 102 (97.1) 9 (25.0) 111 (78.7) <0.001† <0.001*
0.630‡ 0.212‡ 0.007‡
Rhinorrhea 87 (79.8) 28 (75.7) 115 (78.8) 0.595† 151 (82.5) 33 (71.7) 184 (80.4) 0.100† 97 (92.4) 20 (55.6) 117 (83.0) <0.001† 0.012*
0.587‡ 0.066‡ <0.001‡
Itching 55 (50.5) 11 (29.7) 66 (45.2) 0.029† 105 (57.4) 12 (26.1) 117 (51.1) <0.001† 72 (68.6) 3 (8.3) 75 (53.2) <0.001† 0.007*
0.016‡ <0.001‡ <0.001‡
Postnasal drip 71/146 (48.6) 75/146 (51.4) 146/146 (100) 65/229 (28.4) 85/229 (37.1) 150/229 (65.5) 33/141 (23.4) 106/141 (75.2) 139/141 (98.6) 0.028†

Values are presented as number (%).

AR, allergic rhinitis; NAR, nonallergic rhinitis.

*Cochran-Amitage trend test between the age group. †Student t-test, different between AR and NAR. ‡P-value adjusted by multivariate logistic regression analysis for chronic-sinusitis and adenoid vegetation.

Table 3

Allergen sensitization in children with allergic rhinitis

aard-3-116-i003
Allergen 1-4 Years 5-8 Years 9-12 Years P-value*
House dust mite† 98 (89.9) 172 (94.0) 101 (96.2) 0.063
Animal hair‡ 27 (24.8) 47 (25.7) 35 (33.3) 0.163
Pollen 10 (9.2) 28 (15.3) 17 (16.2) 0.135
Mold 11 (10.1) 20 (10.9) 21 (20.0) 0.033

Values are presented as number (%).

*P-value in Cochran-Amitage trend test. †Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farina. ‡Dog hair, Cat fur.

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