Author(s): Riikka Leskel?, Minna Ruokonen, Matti Korppi, Heidi Kainulainen and Marita Paassilta
Allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma are considered as manifestations of a common inflammatory process rather than separate diseases. In our earlier study, AR was underdiagnosed and under-treated in children with asthma, and when present, AR was associated with severe asthma. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if concomitant AR has an influence on lung function in school-aged children with asthma. Data on AR and lung function, measured by flow-volume spirometry (FVS), were retrospectively collected from hospital records of 252 school-aged children with doctor-diagnosed asthma. The limits of abnormal airflow values were 80% of predicted for FEV1, 88% for FEV% (FEV1/FCV) and 62% of predicted for FEF50. At least one parameter in FVS was abnormal in 50.4 % of the study subjects. There were no statistically significant differences between any lung function parameter and the AR status or the medication used for AR. The result was similar regardless of whether FVS parameters were analyzed as dichotomized or continuous variables. The present retrospective hospital chart review was not able to reveal any significant associations between the presence, treatment or severity of AR and lung function in school-aged children with asthma.