title: Prevalence of allergy symptoms and associated medication use in a sample of college seniors.
abstract: The authors surveyed a random sample of college seniors at a university in Boston to determine the prevalence of allergy symptoms and the students' use of medications to relieve symptoms. Of the 400 individuals queries, 58.2% reported some symptoms during the previous year, and 63.0% of that group said their symptoms were moderate to severe. Just over 93.8% of the student respondents used medications to treat symptoms; 91.1% used over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and 55.5% used prescription medications. More than one third had used OTC antihistamines before taking an examination during the previous year. Allergy-like symptoms and associated medication use are common among college-aged students. The authors call for further research to determine whether these OTC and prescription medications affect academic performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, MA 02118, USA. jhow@bu.edu
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Howland
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laramie
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kupka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013334:Students; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014495:Universities
chemical_list: D004366:Nonprescription Drugs