title: A survey of the burden of allergic rhinitis in Hungary from a specialist's perspective.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The casual and severity distribution of allergic rhinitis (AR) in Hungary is unknown.The aim of this survey was to evaluate symptom perception, disease severity, concomitant asthma frequency and the impact of AR on everyday life activities in a cross-sectional, multicenter study in Hungary under the supervision of Hungarian Respiratory Society.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were recorded by 933 AR patients (65.93% women) and their treating specialists. The perceptions of patients regarding the symptoms (nasal, ocular and others) of AR and its severity, together with its impact on everyday life were assessed. Physicians recorded data regarding the diagnosis and severity of AR, and comorbidities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  52.5% of patients suffered from seasonal AR, 35.1% from perennial AR. A large proportion of patients had moderate to severe disease (MS-AR) (57.34%), persistent disease (98.0%) and concomitant asthma (53.32% in the mild, 57.52% in the MS-AR group). MS-AR was more frequent among women. Despite the treatment used, in MS-AR the proportions of patients reporting moderate to severe rhinorrhoea, nasal obstruction, ocular itching/redness, watering, itchy throat and sneezing were as high as 52.0%, 54.0%, 33.8%, 26.5%, 44.0% and 31.2%, respectively. Overall, there was a poor agreement between disease severity reported by patients and specialists. The adherence to oral antihistamines and intranasal corticosteroids was found to be between 50 and 65%; mostly depending on the dosage form.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AR remains a significant health problem in Hungary because of the burden of symptoms, high rate of concomitant asthma and the significant proportion of MS-AR affecting general well being.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonology, Semmelweis University, Diósárok 1/c, H-1125, Budapest, Hungary. tamasi@pulm.sote.hu.
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szilasi
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gálffy
authors.forename: Károly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fónay
authors.forename: Zsuzsa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Márk
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rónai
authors.forename: Zsuzsanna
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szalai
authors.forename: Magdolna E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Szilasi
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Budai
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Somfay
authors.forename: Ildikó
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horváth
authors.forename: Lilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tamási