Prevalence of self-reported allergic and non-allergic rhinitis symptoms in Stockholm: relation to age, gender, olfactory sense and smoking

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of isolated self-reported allergic and non-allergic rhinitis symptoms in an adult population and to explore the relations to age, gender, olfaction and smoking habits.

Material and methods: Self-judged health and environmental exposures were investigated by means of a questionnaire survey administered to a stratified random sample of 15,000 adults in Stockholm County.

Results: A total of 10,670 individuals were included in the analysis, corresponding to a response rate of 73%. The results revealed a high prevalence of self-reported non-allergic rhinitis, 19%, almost as high as the prevalence of self-reported allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, 24%. In contrast to current clinical opinion, we did not find a significant increase in the prevalence of non-allergic symptoms with increased age. There were no statistically significant gender differences in the prevalence of either allergic or non-allergic symptoms. A reduced sense of smell was twice as common in the non-allergic group, 23%, as in the healthy population. The prevalence of rhinitis symptoms differed according to smoking habits.

Conclusion: Both self-reported allergic rhinitis symptoms and non-allergic nasal symptoms are frequent in the population sample. Self-reported non-allergic nasal symptoms seem to occur independent of age and reduced olfactory sense is a common complaint among these subjects. The prevalence of self-reported allergic and non-allergic nasal symptoms did not differ much between men and women or between individuals with different smoking habits.