The adverse impact of work-related rhinitis on quality of life and work productivity

Published online: February 13, 2020

Although allergic and non-allergic rhinitis are highly prevalent conditions, the burden of rhinitis related to the workplace environment has so far received little attention.

In a recent article published by The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Vandenplas et al. report the results of a cross-sectional survey conducted in a large number of workers randomly recruited at the time of their periodic occupational health visit in the French-speaking part of Belgium. The participants completed validated questionnaires aimed at diagnosing work-related rhinitis (WRR) and evaluating its specific impact on quality of life (QoL) and work productivity.

Participants with WRR showed a worse rhinitis-specific QoL compared to those with rhinitis unrelated to work. The results also revealed that both WRR and rhinitis unrelated to work were associated with greater impairments in general health QoL and overall work productivity compared to workers without rhinitis, but these outcomes were more impacted in participants with WRR than in those with rhinitis unrelated to work.

Overall, this study demonstrates that WRR imposes an incremental adverse impact on rhinitis-specific and general health-related QoL and work productivity compared to rhinitis unrelated to work. These findings highlight the need for the identification and management of work-related rhinitis symptoms in order to reduce the global burden of rhinitis.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is an official journal of the AAAAI, focusing on practical information for the practicing clinician.

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