Rhinitis and its impact on work.
OBJECTIVE
Health-related work disability has been increasingly recognized as an important component of the economic and societal burden of a disease. The purpose of this review is to summarize recently published data pertaining to the impact of rhinitis on work disability.


RESULTS
Recent studies have investigated the impact of rhinitis on both the amount of time missed from work (absenteeism) and the level of work effectiveness while on the job (presenteeism). These studies have shown that rhinitis has a rather modest effect on absenteeism, with estimated productivity losses of approximately 1-4% resulting from missed work time. By contrast, rhinitis is associated with substantial impairment in at-work performance. Estimates of lost productivity attributable to reduced on-the-job effectiveness ranged from 11 to 40%. The impact of rhinitis on work productivity is affected by symptom severity, and allergen exposure, and it can be reduced by second-generation antihistamines.


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of rhinitis on work productivity should be further characterized and taken into account for establishing cost-effective management strategies.
Vandenplas
Olivier
O
Department of Chest Medicine, Mont-Godinne Hospital, Catholic University of Louvain de Mont-Godinne, Yvoir, Belgium. olivier.vandenplas@pneu.ucl.ac.be
D'Alpaos
Vinciane
V
Van Brussel
Philippe
P
D000041:Absenteeism; D000485:Allergens; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D039563:Histamine H1 Antagonists, Non-Sedating / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000191:economics* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation
D000485:Allergens; D039563:Histamine H1 Antagonists, Non-Sedating