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Prevalence and clinical characteristics of allergic rhinitis in the elderly Korean population

  • Rhinology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The proportion of elderly people aged ≥ 65 years is increasing worldwide. Although the reported prevalence of sinonasal disease can vary according to the diagnostic methods used, differences in allergic rhinitis prevalence in the elderly according to diagnostic method have not been reported. We thus aimed to evaluate allergic rhinitis prevalence in the elderly according to diagnostic criteria obtained from questionnaires, physician diagnoses, and allergy tests.

Methods

We compared the allergic rhinitis prevalence in the elderly aged ≥ 65 years with adults aged 19–64 years, using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008–2012. Total serum IgE and IgE levels specific to allergens of Dermatophagoides farina, cockroach, and dog dander were examined, and factors affecting specific IgE levels were investigated.

Results

Allergic rhinitis prevalence according to the questionnaire responses, physician diagnoses, and allergy test results was 35.02%, 14.89%, and 17.56%, respectively. The prevalence based on all diagnostic methods assessed was significantly lower in the elderly than in the general adult group (p < 0.001). Rhinorrhea incidence was significantly increased in the elderly (p = 0.018). Sensitization to Dermatophagoides farina was significantly decreased in the elderly (p = 0.006) and did not correlate with socioeconomic status and/or general health factors.

Conclusions

The elderly population has a distinct clinical presentation, including a low prevalence of allergic rhinitis, and an increased incidence of rhinorrhea symptoms, compared with the general adult population. The management of allergic rhinitis in elderly patients may therefore require a different therapeutic approach to improve rhinorrhea rather than nasal obstruction.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Biostatistics Collaboration Unit at Yonsei University for their help with the statistical analyses.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Jae-Sung Nam

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, South Korea

    Chi-Sang Hwang

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06273, South Korea

    Min-Pyo Hong & Kyung-Su Kim

Authors
  1. Jae-Sung Nam
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  2. Chi-Sang Hwang
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  3. Min-Pyo Hong
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  4. Kyung-Su Kim
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Contributions

J-SN, C-SH and K-SK designed the study. J-SN and K-SK wrote the manuscript. M-PH contributed to data collection. J-SN and C-SH performed the statistical analysis and K-SK interpreted the results. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyung-Su Kim.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest and did not receive any financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethics approval and Consent to participate

This study was approved by the institutional review board (IRB) of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (IRB approval numbers: 2008- 04EXP-01-C, 2009-01CON-03-2C, 2010-02CON-21-C, 2011-02CON-06-C, and 2012-01EXP-01-2C).

Consent for publication

This study is has not been previously published whole or in part, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before enrollment. All authors have read the manuscript, agree the work is ready for submission to a journal, and accept responsibility for the manuscript's contents.

Availability of data and material

The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) continuous data used in the study is available publicly at Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) website at: https://knhanes.cdc.go.kr

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Nam, JS., Hwang, CS., Hong, MP. et al. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of allergic rhinitis in the elderly Korean population. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 277, 3367–3373 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-06256-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-06256-5

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