ABSTRACT
Approximately 10-30% of population suffers from allergic rhinitis during their lifetime. In India, more than 10% of the population is reported to have one or other type of allergic disorder. Nasal symptoms are often demeaned; however, their prevalence and effect on the quality of life justify an aggressive and rational approach. Rhinitis and asthma frequently co-exist [60-70%] with rhinitis appearing first in 45% of patients. We wanted to study prevalence of bronchial asthma in patients of allergic rhinitis with or without chest symptoms and its correlates. METHODSThis is a cross sectional study conducted among 100 cases of allergic rhinitis who presented to our hospital from December 2010 to August 2012. Data was analysed by using SPSS and results were expressed in percentages. RESULTSMaximum number of patients belonged to the age group between 21 - 25 yrs. (34 patients), where males were 38.18% and females were 28.89%. Majority of the patients (74%) had significantly reversible small airways obstruction. Among the patients with allergic rhinitis, males had predominantly chest symptoms (58.33%) compared to females (41.67%). Spirometry revealed 63 (80.77%) patients had mild obstruction, 12 (15.38 %) had moderate obstruction and 3 (3.85 %) had severe obstruction. The prevalence of asthma among allergic rhinitis was found to be 78% in our study. CONCLUSIONS78% of patients with allergic rhinitis were found to have underlying asthma. Prevalence of severe, moderate, and mild asthma amongst patients of allergic rhinitis was found to be 3%, 12% and 63% respectively. Severe obstruction was observed in 3.85% of subjects.