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Allergic rhinitis symptoms impact academic productivity

Published: August 20, 2022

Allergic rhinitis is a highly prevalent and bothersome disease that can have an important impact on patients’ day-to-day life. Observational studies have shown that children with allergic rhinitis may have diminished academic performance. However, such impact has not been sufficiently well quantified, and little is known about the factors that may be associated with the impact of allergic rhinitis on academic productivity. Such gaps may be complemented by analyses from real-world data, such as those provided by mHealth apps.

The authors of a study published in a recent issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice assessed data from MASK-air® (https://www.mask-air.com/), an mHealth app which enables patients to register their daily rhinitis and asthma symptoms, the impact of rhinitis on their work and/or school productivity, and their daily allergy medication or allergen immunotherapy usage. Vieira et al. analyzed real-world data from MASK-air® app users aged 13 to 29 years in order to quantify the impact of allergic rhinitis on academic productivity and to identify factors associated with this impact.

Vieira et al. studied 13,454 days of multinational data from 1,970 patients. The authors found the impact of allergic rhinitis on academic productivity to be very high in 13% of reported days. The authors also found a loss of hours of education due to allergies in up to one-third of reported weeks. According to the results, nasal symptoms of allergic rhinitis are the main set of symptoms associated with impaired academic performance. Finally, Vieira et al. also found that the use of immunotherapy is associated with a lower impact of allergic rhinitis on academic productivity. These results highlight the need for physicians to be particularly attentive to the possibility that their younger patients may have allergic rhinitis, as such may have an impact on their school life. Additionally, this study also points to the importance of achieving a good allergic rhinitis control among students.

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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