Observatoire de la prise en charge de la rhinite allergique par les médecins généralistes en France : l’étude ORA

Abstract

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most frequent allergic disease, affecting around 25% of the world population. A prevalence of around 31% in France and its deleterious effects on the quality of life make allergic rhinitis a real health problem. Here we present the results of an observational, French multicenter study (ORA) designed to determine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis types seen by general practitioners, according to the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) classification. Nine hundred forty-four (944) general physicians enrolled 3768 allergic rhinitis patients, aged 18 years or older. Mild intermittent allergic rhinitis was found in 2.0% of patients, moderate to severe intermittent allergic rhinitis in 18.2% of patients, mild persistent allergic rhinitis in 5.6% of patients and moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis in 74.3% of patients. Almost all patients had at least one triggering factor identified, where 93% were external pollutants (pollen: 83.6% and dust: 34.3%) and 51.2% of internal pollutants (dust: 40.9% and mites: 26.6%). An amount of 26.3% of patients was working in a polluted environment, according to the patient's point of view. The symptoms of AR had a significant impact on the quality of life (discomfort: 87.9% of patients, sleep disorder: 56.8%, disruption of daily activities: 61.4% or troubles at work or school: 46.5%). 95% of patients were treated with corticosteroids and 83.7% by oral anti-H1, alone or in combination. In conclusion, we found a high proportion of moderate to severe persistent rhinitis in patients consulting general practitioners. This strongly affected patients’ quality of life.