Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the analysable population
| Children (N = 203) |
Adults (N = 280) |
Total (N = 483) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (n,%; male) | 129 (63.5%) | 139 (49.6%) | 268 (55.5%) |
| Age (mean ± SD; years) | 11.8 (3.4) | 33.8 (10.9) | 24.5 (13.9) |
| Smoker or ex-smoker (n, %) | 3 (1.5%) | 74 (26.4%) | 77 (15.9%) |
| Living in an urban environment (n, %) | 88 (43.3%) | 167 (59.6%) | 255 (52.8%) |
| Age at onset of allergic rhinitis (mean ± SD; years) | 7.8 (3.3) | 18.6 (9.9) | 14.1 (9.5) |
| Allergic rhinitis with conjunctivitis (n, %) | 170 (83.7%) | 244 (87.1%) | 414 (85.7%) |
| Other allergic conditions (n, %) | |||
| None | 90 (44.3%) | 143 (51.1%) | 233 (48.2%) |
| Asthma | 84 (41.4%) | 96 (34.3%) | 180 (37.3%) |
| Eczema | 32 (15.8%) | 30 (10.7%) | 62 (12.8%) |
| Food allergy | 14 (6.9%) | 16 (5.7%) | 30 (6.2%) |
| Urticaria | 6 (3.0%) | 12 (4.3%) | 18 (3.7%) |
| Other associated chronic disease | 9 (4.4%) | 20 (7.1%) | 29 (6.0%) |
| Symptom frequencya (ARIA classification) (n, %) | |||
| Intermittent | 30 (14.8%) | 34 (12.1%) | 64 (13.3%) |
| Persistent | 173 (85.2%) | 246 (87.9%) | 419 (86.7%) |
| Allergy severitya (ARIA classification) (n, %) | |||
| Mild | 15 (7.4%) | 4 (1.4%) | 19 (3.9%) |
| Moderate or severe | 188 (92.6%) | 276 (98.6%) | 464 (96.1%) |
| Specific grass pollen allergy test performed (n, %) | 203 (100.0%) | 280 (100.0%) | 483 (100.0%) |
| Skin prick test | 200 (98.5%) | 279 (99.6%) | 479 (99.2%) |
| Anti-grass pollen IgE assay | 113 (55.7%) | 143 (51.1%) | 256 (53.0%) |
| Nasal irritation test | None | None | None |
| Maintenance treatment previously prescribeda (n, %) | 156 (76.8) | 209 (74.6%) | 365 (75.6%) |
| Systemic antihistamines | 142 (70.0%) | 195 (69.6%) | 337 (69.8%) |
| Topical decongestants and other preparations | 62 (30.5%) | 85 (30.4%) | 147 (30.4%) |
| Topical corticosteroids | 62 (30.5%) | 79 (28.2%) | 141 (29.2%) |
| Systemic decongestants and anti-allergic drugs | 34 (16.7%) | 41 (14.6%) | 75 (15.5%) |
| Inhaled sympathomimetic drugs | 21 (10.3%) | 12 (4.3%) | 33 (6.8%) |
| Other | 13 (6.4%) | 14 (5.0%) | 27 (5.6%) |
| Acute treatment previously prescribeda (n, %) | 101 (49.8%) | 119 (42.5%) | 220 (45.5%) |
| Systemic antihistamines | 41 (20.2%) | 56 (20.0%) | 97 (20.1%) |
| Topical decongestants and other preparations | 39 (19.2%) | 37 (13.2%) | 76 (15.7%) |
| Topical corticosteroids | 38 (18.7%) | 27 (9.6%) | 65 (13.5%) |
| Systemic decongestants and anti-allergic drugs | 42 (20.7%) | 45 (16.1%) | 87 (18.0%) |
| Inhaled sympathomimetic drugs | 26 (12.8%) | 21 (7.5% %) | 47 (9.7%) |
ARIA allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma, SD standard deviation
aFor the previous (2014) pollen season