title: Increased association between febrile convulsion and allergic rhinitis in children: a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Febrile convulsions and allergic rhinitis are both common childhood disorders and both are considered as generally benign disorders. Yet, especially in the case of allergic rhinitis, adverse effects on school performance and limited socialization are found. The relationship between febrile convulsions and allergic rhinitis has not been previously reported; thus, this article seeks to explore the association between these two disorders by collecting data from the Taiwanese nationwide cohort database.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1304 children with febrile convulsions were identified as the case cohort, and controls were matched based on age, sex, urbanization levels, and parents' occupation on a 1 to 4 ratio. Cox's proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio and confidence interval of allergic rhinitis disorder among children with febrile convulsions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During an average 6.7 years follow-up period, the incidence of allergic rhinitis in the febrile convulsions case group was higher (65.16 vs 51.45 per 1000 person-years). After 11 years of follow-up, the allergic rhinitis incidence in the febrile convulsion patients was approximate 4% higher than controls (log-rank test P < 0.0001). Risk of allergic rhinitis in the febrile convulsions group was found to be 1.21 times higher than in the control group (95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.36). This risk of allergic rhinitis development is further increased (0.94 vs 18.9) with frequency of febrile convulsions-related medical visits (one to three visits vs more than three visits, P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Febrile convulsions may be associated with allergic rhinitis occurrence in children. Children with more than three febrile convulsion-related medical visits had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of allergic rhinitis. Both disorders have previously been reported to have similar cytokine profiles and specific viral infection association. More studies are required to explore a possible link between the two disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Ya
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Hsin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Muo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Chia
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ku
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Science and School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fung-Chang
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine Science and School of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address: d10040@mail.cmuh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Chia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D065631:Rhinitis, Allergic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: allergic rhinitis; atopy; febrile convulsion; interleukin-1b