Is Marriage a Risk Factor for Allergic Rhinitis?

Abstract

Objective: Our study aimed to determine the effect of marriage and sexual activity as risk factors for allergic rhinitis and to figure out degree of impact of consanguinity in the Saudi population on allergic rhinitis. Study design: A cross sectional study. Methods: The study was conducted at the outpatient ENT clinic of King Faisal University polyclinic centre at the period from October 2015 to February 2016. A random of 60 patients of age group 20-55 years old including both sex. The inclusive criteria were patients experienced symptoms related to out- door, indoor allergic rhinitis in the past 12 months. All of them were married and subjected to a questionnaire. It included 21 questions assessing symptoms of allergic rhinitis to verify the diagnosis, and its frequency and severity. It also included the marital details and patterns of consanguinity. Results: Seven female patients (out of 24=29%) and 4 male ones (out of 25=16%) admitted experience of post coital exacerbation of allergic rhinitis attacks. Conclusion: Marriage and sexual activity are risk factors for allergic rhinitis as 18% of our study experienced post coital exacerbation of allergic rhinitis attacks. However, vasomotor rhinitis might be a possible diagnosis if the patient age is above 35 with no family history of allergies.