Wong Qi Yi Ambrose, Lim Jun Jie, Ng Jun Yan, Malipeddi Praneeth, Lim Yi Ying Eliza, Sio Yang Yie, Chew Fook Tim
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 117543, Singapore.
World Allergy Organ J. 2024 Aug 14;17(9):100954. doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2024.100954. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a nasal disorder characterized by the simultaneous manifestation of at least 2 out of 4 possible symptoms: rhinorrhea, nasal itching, nasal pruritus, and sneezing. Presently, among Chinese young adults from Singapore, we characterised AR phenotypes, established Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS) baselines, and examined the management of AR.
Participants completed an investigator-administered International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire and underwent a skin prick test (SPT). Individuals exhibiting sensitization during the SPT while having at least 2 rhinitis symptoms were identified as AR cases, then categorized into Allergic Rhinitis in Asthma (ARIA) classifications.
There were 9323 subjects analyzed. AR prevalence was estimated at 35.4%. Rhinorrhea was perceived as the most severe (mean Nasal Symptom Score (mNSS) ± SD: 1.42 ± 0.74), while nasal pruritus was the least severe (mNSS ± SD: 1.24 ± 0.68). Among moderate-severe AR (68.1%), most were affected by either troublesome symptoms (27.7%) or sleep disturbances (18.4%). By ARIA classes, 26.6% were mild intermittent, 5.4% were mild persistent, 50.3% were moderate-severe intermittent, and 17.6% were moderate-severe persistent. The mean TNSS (mTNSS) of AR cases was 4.43 (SD = 2.49) and between AR classifications, the mTNSS was significantly different. Notably, a large proportion of AR cases remained undiagnosed (85.2%), untreated (72.5%), or both (65.4%); 19.8% self-medicated for AR.
There was a significant difference in TNSS of the AR phenotypes, and among phenotypes with a higher mTNSS, a large proportion remained untreated, undiagnosed, or both. The evidence indicates an existing burden of AR among Chinese young adults in Singapore which is notably undermanaged.
变应性鼻炎（AR）是一种鼻腔疾病，其特征是在四种可能症状中至少同时出现两种：流涕、鼻痒、鼻内瘙痒和打喷嚏。目前，在来自新加坡的中国年轻成年人中，我们对AR表型进行了特征描述，建立了总鼻症状评分（TNSS）基线，并研究了AR的管理情况。
参与者完成了由研究者管理的儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究（ISAAC）问卷，并接受了皮肤点刺试验（SPT）。在SPT期间表现出致敏且至少有两种鼻炎症状的个体被确定为AR病例，然后分为哮喘伴变应性鼻炎（ARIA）分类。
共分析了9323名受试者。AR患病率估计为35.4%。流涕被认为是最严重的症状（平均鼻症状评分（mNSS）±标准差：1.42±0.74），而鼻内瘙痒是最不严重的症状（mNSS±标准差：1.24±0.68）。在中重度AR患者（68.1%）中，大多数受到令人烦恼的症状（27.7%）或睡眠障碍（18.4%）的影响。根据ARIA分类，26.6%为轻度间歇性，5.4%为轻度持续性，50.3%为中重度间歇性，17.6%为中重度持续性。AR病例的平均TNSS（mTNSS）为4.43（标准差=2.49），在不同AR分类之间，mTNSS有显著差异。值得注意的是，很大一部分AR病例仍未被诊断（85.2%）、未接受治疗（72.5%）或两者皆有（65.4%）；19.8%的人自行使用AR药物。
AR表型的TNSS存在显著差异，在mTNSS较高的表型中，很大一部分仍未接受治疗、未被诊断或两者皆有。证据表明，新加坡的中国年轻成年人中存在AR负担，且管理明显不足。
