The impact of environmental factors on quality of life and symptoms of children with allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal mucosa caused by exposure to allergens, which impairs the cognitive capabilities of the affected. OBJECTIVE: To correlate the mean scores of quality of life of children and adolescents with symptoms of allergic rhinitis and the presence of household environmental factors described in the literature as allergy triggers. METHOD: This cross-sectional retrospective cohort study included 120 children and adolescents presenting clinical manifestations of allergic rhinitis. The subjects were divided into two groups based on the number of allergy-triggering environmental factors seen in their households. Scale PedsQL 4.0 was used to quantify quality of life and allow further comparisons between groups. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were seen in the PedsQL mean scores when participant quality of life was analyzed vis-a-vis triggering environmental factors. However, the incidence of allergy manifestations was higher in children exposed to more environmental factors. CONCLUSION: The studied environmental factors were not correlated with patient quality of life. However, the analysis of patient households and symptoms indicates the environment played a role in the onset of allergy events.