Comorbidities and Phenotypes of Rhinitis in Korean Children and Adolescents: A Cross-sectional, Multicenter Study.
OBJECTIVE
Rhinitis is a nasal inflammatory disease in children and adolescents. However, little is known about the phenotypes and characteristics of allergic rhinitis (AR) in Korean children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to analyze the symptoms and comorbidities of rhinitis, to compare AR to non-allergic rhinitis (NAR), and to reveal the phenotypes and features of AR in a Korean pediatric population.


METHODS
Patients under 18 years of age with rhinitis symptoms were recruited from January 2013 to January 2015 by pediatric allergists. We analyzed symptoms, phenotypes, comorbidities, and allergen sensitization in this cross-sectional, multicenter study.


RESULTS
Medical records were collected from 11 hospitals. The AR group has 641 (68.3%) patients, with 63.2% of boys and 7.5 (±3.4) years of mean age. The NAR group has 136 (14.5%) patients, with 55.1% of boys and 5.5 (±2.9) years of mean age. Moderate-severe persistent AR affected 41.2% of AR patients. Nasal obstruction was more common in NAR patients (P<0.050), whereas AR patients sneezed more (P<0.050) and more commonly had conjunctivitis, asthma, and otitis media (P<0.050). Sinusitis was the most common comorbidity in both groups. Allergen sensitization was caused by house dust mites (HDMs) (90.2%), pollen (38.7%), and animal dander (24.8%) in AR patients. Pollen and animal dander sensitization significantly increased age-dependently (P<0.050), but 91.9% of AR patients were already sensitized to HDMs before 5 years old.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study revealed that AR was more prevalent than NAR and that 41.2% of AR presented with moderate-severe disease in Korean pediatric populations. Sinusitis was the most common comorbidity, and sleep disturbance was associated with the severity of rhinitis. The majority of AR patients were sensitized to HDMs in preschool ages. Further studies, including nationwide and longitudinal data, will help understand the relationship between these diseases.
Department of Pediatrics, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Kyung Suk
KS
Lee
Department of Pediatrics, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Hye Yung
HY
Yum
Department of Pediatrics, CHA Gangnam Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Youn Ho
YH
Sheen
Department of Pediatrics, Konkuk University Medical Center, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yong Mean
YM
Park
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Yong Ju
YJ
Lee
Department of Pediatrics, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
Bong Seok
BS
Choi
Department of Pediatrics, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Hye Mi
HM
Jee
Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Sun Hee
SH
Choi
Department of Pediatrics, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hyun Hee
HH
Kim
Department of Pediatrics, Wonkwang University Sanbon Hospital, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Gunpo, Korea.
Yang
Y
Park
Department of Pediatrics, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Hyo Bin
HB
Kim
Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. yhrha@khu.ac.kr.
Yeong Ho
YH
Rha
Rhinitis; allergic rhinitis; children; comorbidity; phenotype