The association between sibling and allergic rhinitis in adolescents

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We investigated the effect of siblings on the development of allergic rhinitis (AR) in Korean adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of adolescents (n=3,271) aged 12 to 15 years was conducted at three middle schools in Seoul. Demographic and disease-related information was obtained through a questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 13.9+/-0.8 years comprising 48.7% males and 51.3% females. The percentage of the subjects who had ever been diagnosed with AR by physician was 30.7%. Subjects who had older sibling and who had younger sibling were 45.3% and 44.2% respectively. Subjects with older sibling were less likely to diagnose AR than subjects without older sibling (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 0.84). Subjects with older sibling, even though with family history of allergic disease had protective effect compared to subjects without older sibling (aOR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.84). Subjects with younger sibling were more likely to diagnose AR than subjects without younger sibling (aOR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.49). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that having older sibling is one of the important protective factor for the development of allergic rhinitis and having younger sibling is risk factor for allergic rhinitis in adolescents.