Severity Of Hay Fever Research Articles

Determinants of the utilization of allergy management measures among hay fever sufferers: a theory-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe quality of life of chronically ill individuals, such as hay fever sufferers, is significantly dependent on their health behavior. This survey aimed to explain the health-related behavior of allergic individuals using the protection motivation theory (PMT) and the transtheoretical model (TTM).MethodsThe influencing variables stated by PMT were operationalized based on data from semistructured pilot interviews and a pretest with 12 individuals from the target population. The final questionnaire inquired perceived seriousness and severity of hay fever, response efficacy, response costs, self-efficacy, and the use of various hay fever management measures in relation to the TTM stages. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate the relationships between the PMT constructs and the examined health behavior.ResultsA total of 569 allergic individuals completed the online questionnaire. Only 33.26% of allergic individuals were in the maintenance stage for treatment under medical supervision, and almost 60% preferred hay fever self-management. A total of 67.56% had a well-established habit of taking anti-allergic medication, but only 25.31% had undergone specific immunotherapy. The likelihood of seeking medical supervision was positively influenced by perceived severity (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.02–1.81), perceived seriousness (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.56–2.89), and self-efficacy (OR = 4.52, 95% CI: 3.11–6.65). The perceived severity of symptoms predicted the practice of hay fever self-management (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.21–2.11), as well as anti-allergic medication intake (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.16–2.35). The latter measure was also positively influenced by self-efficacy (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.01–2.28) and hay fever self-management (OR = 4.76, 95% CI: 2.67–7.49). Undergoing specific immunotherapy was significantly predicted only by medical supervision (OR = 9.80, 95% CI: 8.16–13.80). Allergen avoidance was a strategy used by allergic individuals who preferred hay fever self-management (OR = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.87–3.52) and experienced notable symptom severity (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.60–2.81).ConclusionEducational interventions that increase the awareness of health risks associated with inadequate hay fever management and measures to increase self-efficacy might be beneficial for the promotion of appropriate hay fever management among allergic individuals.

春季花粉症患者のいびきと日中の眠気に関する質問票調査

Bothersome symptoms of hay fever impair not only patients' quality of life but also their labor productivity and learning efficiency. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) caused by hay fever is thought to be one of the reasons for these impairments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of springtime hay fever and EDS by using a questionnaire. The questionnaire included information about age, sex, height, weight, severity of hay fever, treatment for hay fever, smoking and alcohol consumption habit, history of drug use for sleeping, existence of snoring, and Japanese version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. After excluding responses containing insufficient data, responses from 1,734 patients were considered as eligible. By performing logistic regression analysis, we analyzed the effect of the aforementioned parameters on the comorbidity of EDS and snoring. The odds ratio (OR) to comorbid EDS was significantly higher in the moderate and severe hay fever groups than in the asymptomatic hay fever group (moderate: OR=1.76, p=0.014, severe: OR=2.53, p<0.001). Also, OR to comorbid snoring was significantly higher in the severe hay fever group than in the asymptomatic hay fever group (severe: OR=1.90, p=0.001).

Farmers' children suffer less from hay fever and asthma

Farm children suffer less frequently from pollinosis and bronchial asthma, although they are exposed to higher concentrations of airborne allergens. How do farm children differ from children in the general population with respect to immunological sensitization to airborne allergens? Since 1983, a continuing seroepidemiological study of allergic reactions of schoolchildren in a rural area was conducted. Each year, all 15 year-old schoolchildren were given a standardized allergy questionnaire and are tested serologically (RAST/CAP-test) for their IgE sensitization towards the four major groups of airborne allergens: timothy grass pollen, birch pollen, house-dust mites, and cat dander. Farm children were compared with children who only occasionally help out on farms and also with those who had no direct contact with agriculture. From a total of 1307 children, 1287 questionnaires (98.5%) and 1100 (84.2%) of the serological tests could be analysed. Over the 16 years of the study, a statistically significant increase in the incidence and severity of hay fever and asthma was found in the children with no direct contact to agriculture. This was coupled with a significant increase in the sero-prevalence of sensitisation to the major airborne allergens. Among the 133 farm children, the prevalence of hay fever was: any history of hay fever in 2.4%, hay fever within the last year in none. A history of asthma was found in 1.6% of the children. Among children who occasionally worked on or had contact with farms, the prevalences were: any history of hay fever 9.3%, hay fever within the last year 9.3%, asthma 4.4%. Corresponding prevalences in children with no direct contact to farms were 18.3%, 18.6% and 9.1%, respectively. The seroepidemiological tests showed that the farm children not only had an overall lower rate of seroprevalence of antibodies towards the 4 marker allergens, but they also became sensitized to a lesser extent. At increasing cut-off values of the specific IgE titers, the odds ratio of the farm children in comparison to the control children became increasingly significant. This trend was found with all four marker allergens. The paradoxical immune reaction of farm children towards airborne allergens shows two characteristic quantitative features: in spite of high exposure rates, the children became sensitized less often and more weakly than control classmates from the same village. Children who had intermittent contact with farms showed intermediate results with respect to both symptoms and sensitization. These farm children have thus become adapted towards the allergens to which they are exposed. This immunological form ist similar to results from East Germany and the former USSR, in spite of the fact that lifestyle and exposure to microbes differ greatly. The immunological adaptation can best be interpreted as the result of a greater and continual stimulation of the Th1-immune response towards anthropozoonotic antigens.

Polyethylene glycol-modified ragweed pollen extract in rhinoconjunctivitis

Sixty-two ragweed-sensitive adult subjects volunteered to take part in a 2-year, placebo-controlled efficacy study of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified ragweed extract, in ragweed pollen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis. At the beginning of the study, subjects were stratified according to skin sensitivity to ragweed extract and PEG-modified ragweed and the severity of hay fever in the previous year. There was random allocation of half to active treatment and half to placebo treatment. Before the first ragweed pollen season the 36 most sensitive subjects received 10 weekly injections (group 1), and the remaining 26 received six injections (group 2). Before the second season all subjects received 10 injections. Doses increased by half a log concentration each week unless there were adverse reactions. The mean total dose received by group 1 in year 1 was 385 μg of protein (28.9 μg AgE) and received by group 2 was 218 μg of protein (16.4 μg AgE). In year 2 the mean total dose was 1829 jug (137.2 μg AgE). Sixty-six percent of injections elicited no reaction or a mild local reaction; the remaining injections produced local redness and swelling more than 2 inches in diameter. Four percent of injections produced systemic symptoms. PEG-modified ragweed stimulated increases in ragweed specific IgG antibody both years, but increases in ragweed specific IgE antibody were significant only in group 1 in year 1. The magnitude of the IgG antibody changes was directly related to the total dose injected. At the beginning of the second year, PEG-modified ragweed-treated subjects still had elevated IgG antibody levels. In the first year the subjects who had received 10 PEG-modified ragweed injections improved in symptoms and medications; however, in subjects who received only six injections there was no difference between active and placebo treatment. In year 2 the actively treated group had significantly less symptoms and needed less medication, and the improvement was significantly better than that observed during the first year. The results indicate that PEG-modified ragweed, administered in sufficient doses, is effective in reducing symptoms of ragweed-induced rhinoconjunctivitis and that the effect may be additive when it is administered over consecutive years.