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. 2017 Oct;72(10):1475-1484.
doi: 10.1111/all.13177. Epub 2017 Jun 9.

Work productivity in rhinitis using cell phones: The MASK pilot study

J Bousquet  1   2   3 , M Bewick  4 , S Arnavielhe  5 , E Mathieu-Dupas  5 , R Murray  6 , A Bedbrook  1 , D P Caimmi  7   8 , O Vandenplas  9 , P W Hellings  10 , C Bachert  11 , J M Anto  12 , K C Bergmann  13 , C Bindslev-Jensen  14 , S Bosnic-Anticevich  15 , J Bouchard  16   17 , G W Canonica  18 , N H Chavannes  19 , A A Cruz  20   21 , R Dahl  20   21 , P Demoly  8 , G De Vries  22 , P Devillier  23 , A Fink-Wagner  24 , W J Fokkens  25 , J Fonseca  26   27 , N A Guldemond  28 , T Haahtela  29 , B Hellqvist-Dahl  30 , J Just  31   32 , T Keil  33   34 , L Klimek  35 , M L Kowalski  36   37 , P Kuna  38 , V Kvedariene  39 , D Laune  5 , D Larenas-Linnemann  40 , J Mullol  41 , A M Pereira  42   43   44 , P Carreiro-Martins  45   46 , E Melén  47 , M Morais-Almeida  48 , L Nogueira-Silva  49 , R E O'Hehir  50   51 , N G Papadopoulos  52   53 , G Passalacqua  54 , F Portejoie  1 , D Price  55   56   57 , D Ryan  58 , B Samolinski  59 , A Sheikh  60 , F E R Simons  61 , O Spranger  24 , A Todo Bom  62 , P V Tomazic  63 , M Triggiani  64 , A Valero  65 , E Valovirta  66   67 , A Valiulis  68   69 , M van Eerd  22 , M Wickman  47 , I Young  70 , T Zuberbier  13
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Free article

Work productivity in rhinitis using cell phones: The MASK pilot study

J Bousquet et al. Allergy. 2017 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Allergic rhinitis often impairs social life and performance. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to use cell phone data to assess the impact on work productivity of uncontrolled rhinitis assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS). A mobile phone app (Allergy Diary, Google Play Store and Apple App Store) collects data from daily visual analogue scales (VAS) for overall allergic symptoms (VAS-global measured), nasal (VAS-nasal), ocular (VAS-ocular) and asthma symptoms (VAS-asthma) as well as work (VAS-work). A combined nasal-ocular score is calculated. The Allergy Diary is available in 21 countries. The app includes the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Allergic Specific Questionnaire (WPAI:AS) in six EU countries. All consecutive users who completed the VAS-work from 1 June to 31 October 2016 were included in the study. A total of 1136 users filled in 5818 days of VAS-work. Symptoms of allergic rhinitis were controlled (VAS-global <20) in approximately 60% of the days. In users with uncontrolled rhinitis, approximately 90% had some work impairment and over 50% had severe work impairment (VAS-work >50). There was a significant correlation between VAS-global calculated and VAS-work (Rho=0.83, P<0.00001, Spearman's rank test). In 144 users, there was a significant correlation between VAS-work and WPAI:AS (Rho=0.53, P<0.0001). This pilot study provides not only proof-of-concept data on the work impairment collected with the app but also data on the app itself, especially the distribution of responses for the VAS. This supports the interpretation that persons with rhinitis report both the presence and the absence of symptoms.

Keywords: Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma; WPAIA:AS; app; rhinitis; work productivity.

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