title: Association between allergic rhinitis and asthma in a Northern Alberta cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many published epidemiologic studies confirm a marked increase in the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis. The link between allergic rhinitis and asthma has been extensively studied and approximately 75% of patients with asthma have allergic rhinitis. The proportion of patients with asthma in populations of allergic rhinitis patients has not been well studied.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of undiagnosed asthma in a specific population of patients presenting to an Otolaryngologist with symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients presenting with symptoms of allergic rhinitis to two tertiary care Rhinology practices in Northern Alberta were asked to undergo allergy skin testing, serum IgE quantification, and pulmonary functional testing. Patients with previous asthma screening or known history of reactive airway disease or asthma were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  107 patients with allergic rhinitis symptoms were recruited between September 2010 to January 2013. Patients predominantly had perennial or persistent rhinitis (64.5%) with moderate-severe symptoms (50.5%). While only 14.9% of patients had abnormal IgE levels, 68.8% had positive skin testing. Abnormal pulmonary function tests were obtained in 39.1% of patients and 26.1% of patients were diagnosed with asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a high prevalence of undiagnosed asthma in patients presenting to tertiary Rhinology care with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis symptoms. Screening lung function testing should be considered in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, 8440 112 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2B7, Canada. caroline.xu@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Caroline C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Jeffery
authors.forename: Mohit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhutani
authors.forename: Harissios
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vliagoftis
authors.forename: Erin D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seikaly
authors.forename: David W J
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Côté
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors