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. 2025 Jul;74(3):445-452.
doi: 10.1016/j.alit.2024.12.007. Epub 2025 Apr 2.

Impact of allergic symptoms on work productivity in allergic rhinitis: A MASK-air direct patient data study

Rafael José Vieira  1 , Ana Margarida Pereira  2 , Maciej Kupczyk  3 , Frederico S Regateiro  4 , Desirée E Larenas-Linnemann  5 , Sanna Toppila-Salmi  6 , Tomohisa Iinuma  7 , Piotr Kuna  3 , Alvaro A Cruz  8 , Luisa Brussino  9 , Bilun Gemicioglu  10 , Boleslaw Samolinski  11 , Luis Taborda-Barata  12 , Maria Teresa Ventura  13 , Violeta Kvedariene  14 , Ludger Klimek  15 , Oliver Pfaar  16 , Torsten Zuberbier  17 , Luís Filipe Azevedo  1 , João A Fonseca  1 , Jean Bousquet  18 , Bernardo Sousa-Pinto  1 ; MASK-air think tank
Collaborators, Affiliations
Free article

Impact of allergic symptoms on work productivity in allergic rhinitis: A MASK-air direct patient data study

Rafael José Vieira et al. Allergol Int. 2025 Jul.
Free article

Abstract

Background: Allergic rhinitis may impair work productivity. This study aimed to assess (i) the differential impact of allergic rhinitis symptoms on work performance, assessed by means of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) work; and (ii) the effect of asthma comorbidity on work productivity.

Methods: We assessed data from the MASK-air mHealth app of patients with allergic rhinitis. We identified factors associated with the impact of allergic symptoms on work productivity through multivariable linear mixed effects models.

Results: We studied 260,378 days from 20,724 patients. In multivariable regression models, nasal symptoms showed the strongest association with VAS work (regression coefficient = 0.38 [95%CI = 0.38; 0.38]). Poor rhinitis control, measured by the combined symptom-medication score, was associated with worse VAS work (regression coefficient = 0.96 [95%CI = 0.96; 0.97]). The median VAS work in patients with probable or possible asthma (median = 9, interquartile range = 22 for probable and 23 for possible asthma) was greater than for patients with no evidence of asthma (median = 3, interquartile range = 12) (Cohen's d = 0.60). In patients with probable asthma, nasal and asthma symptoms showed a similar impact on work productivity (regression coefficient for VAS nose = 0.32 [95%CI = 0.31; 0.32]; regression coefficient for VAS asthma = 0.30 [95%CI = 0.29; 0.31]).

Conclusions: Allergy symptoms, especially nasal symptoms, are associated with worse work productivity. In addition, patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma display more impairment in work productivity than patients with allergic rhinitis alone.

Keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Asthma; Visual analogue scale; Work performance; mHealth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest JB reports personal fees from Cipla, Menarini, Mylan, Novartis, Purina, Sanofi, Teva, Uriach, other from KYomed-Innov, other from Mask-air-SAS. STS reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from ALK-Abelló, personal fees from GSK, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Clario, personal fees from Orion Pharma, grants from GSK, grants from Sanofi. OP reports grants and/or personal fees and/or travel support from ALK-Abelló, Allergopharma, Stallergenes Greer, HAL Allergy, Bencard Allergie, Leti, GlaxoSmithKline, ROXALL Medizin, Novartis, Sanofi, Med Update Europe, streamedup! Pohl-Boskamp, Inmunotek, John Wiley and Sons/AS, Paul-Martini-Stiftung (PMS), Regeneron., RG Aerztefortbildung, Institut für Disease Management, Springer, AstraZeneca, IQVIA Commercial, Ingress Health, Wort&Bild Verlag, Verlag ME, Procter&Gamble, Altamira, Meinhardt Congress, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Thieme, Deutsche AllergieLiga e.V., AeDA, Alfried-Krupp Krankenhaus, Red Maple Trials, Königlich Dänisches Generalkonsulat, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Expro&Conference Management, Technical University Dresden, Lilly, Japanese Society of Allergology, Forum für Medizinische Fortbildung, Dustri-Verlag, Pneumolive, ASIT Biotech, Lofarma, Almirall, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, outside the submitted work; and he is Vice President of the EAACI and member of EAACI Excom, member of ext. board of directors DGAKI; coordinator, main- or co-author of different position papers and guidelines in rhinology, allergology and allergen-immunotherapy; he is associate editor (AE) of Allergy and Clinical Translational Allergy. FSR reports personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Bial, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from GSK, personal fees from Tecnifar, personal fees from Jaba Recordati. MK reports personal fees from Adamed, personal fees from Abbvie, personal fees and non-financial support from Astra Zeneca, personal fees and non-financial support from Berlin Chemie, personal fees and non-financial support from Chiesi, personal fees from EMMA, personal fees from GSK, personal fees from HAL Allergy, personal fees from Hvd, personal fees from LEK-AM, personal fees from Polfarma, personal fees from Teva, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Zentiva. BG reports grants from GSK, grants from Astrazeneca, grants from Abdi Ibrahim, grants from Deva, grants from Sanofi. TZ reports personal fees from Amgen, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from AbbVie, personal fees from ALK-Abelló, personal fees from Almirall, personal fees from Astellas, personal fees from Bayer Health Care, personal fees from Bencard, personal fees from Berlin Chemie, personal fees from Faes Farma, personal fees from HAL Allergy, personal fees from Henkel, personal fees from Kryolan, personal fees from Leti, personal fees from L'Oreal, personal fees from Meda, personal fees from Menarini, personal fees from Merck Sharp & Dohme, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Noucor, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from Stallergenes, personal fees from Takeda, personal fees from Teva, personal fees from UCB, personal fees from Uriach, personal fees from Abivax, personal fees from Blueprint, personal fees from Celldex, personal fees from Celltrion, outside the submitted work; and Committee member, ARIA; Member of the Board, DGAKI; Head, ECARF; President, GA(2)LEN; Member, Committee on Allergy Diagnosis and Molecular Allergology, and WAO. LK reports grants and personal fees from Allergopharma, grants and personal fees from Meda, personal fees from HAL Allergy, grants from ALK Abelló, grants and personal fees from Leti, Pharma, grants from Stallergenes, grants from Quintiles, grants and personal fees from Sanofi, grants from ASIT biotech, grants from Lofarma, personal fees from Allergy Therapeut., grants from AstraZeneca, grants from GSK, grants from Inmunotk, personal fees from Cassella med, outside the submitted work; and Membership: AeDA, DGHNO, Deutsche Akademie für Allergologie und klinische Immunologie, HNO-BV, GPA, EAACI. PK reports grants from Portuguese national funds and community funds from the European Social Fund and Programa Por_Norte through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT-MCTES, Portugal), during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Adamed, grants and personal fees from Berlin Chemie Menarini, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Polpharma, personal fees from Sanofi, personal fees from GSK, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Glenmark, personal fees from Celon Pharma. LTB reports personal fees from Leti, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Laboratorios Vitória. DEL reports personal fees from ALK, Astrazeneca, Bayer, Chiesi, Grunenthal, Grin, GSK, Viatris, Menarini, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, Siegfried, Carnot, grants from Abbvie, Bayer, Lilly, Sanofi, Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Novartis, Pulmonair, GSK, Chiesi, outside the submitted work; and Editor in chief of Immune System (Karger); Member of asthma committee ACAAI; Subgroup chair of allergen immunotherapy Practice parameter update JTF AAAAI/ACAAI 2024; Member of allergen immunotherapy committee AAAAI; Chair of allergen immunotherapy committee CMICA; Member of allergic asthma task force EAACI. BS reports personal fees from Polpharma, personal fees from Viatris, grants and personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Teva, personal fees from patient ombudsman, personal fees from Polish Allergology Society, grants from GSK, personal fees from Adamed.TI reports grants from Sanofi. AAC reports personal fees from Abdi-Ibrahim, personal fees from AstraZeneca, personal fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, personal fees from Chiesi, personal fees from Eurofarma, personal fees from Glennmark, personal fees from Crossject, personal fees from GSK, personal fees from Ache, personal fees from Farmoquimica, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Sanofi. VK reports non-financial support from Dimuna. The rest of the authors have no conflict of interest.

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