Time trends of allergic rhinitis and effects of residence on allergic rhinitis in Korea from 1998 through 2007-2009

Jun-Pyo Myong; Hyeongsu Kim; Kunsei Lee; Sounghoon Chang

doi:10.1016/j.anr.2012.08.001

Time trends of allergic rhinitis and effects of residence on allergic rhinitis in Korea from 1998 through 2007-2009

Asian Nurs Res (Korean Soc Nurs Sci). 2012 Sep;6(3):102-6. doi: 10.1016/j.anr.2012.08.001. Epub 2012 Aug 19.

Authors

Jun-Pyo Myong¹, Hyeongsu Kim², Kunsei Lee³, Sounghoon Chang³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Medicine, and Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.
² Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: mubul@kku.ac.kr.
³ Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea.

PMID: 25030976
DOI: 10.1016/j.anr.2012.08.001

Abstract

Purpose: Longitudinal changes in the prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis (AR) in Korea and the association between the prevalence of AR and type of residence area among Korean males and females in 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2007-2009 were evaluated.

Methods: Age-standardized prevalence was calculated using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) I-IV. Stratified factors of sex, age, and socioeconomic status were adjusted to compare the prevalence of AR in relation to residential area by multiple logistic analysis.

Results: The prevalence of AR increased by tenfolds from 1.2 % in 1998 to 12.0 % in 2007-2009. The trends for prevalence of AR were also statistically significant (p < .05). The age-standardized prevalence of AR among urban females was higher (13.9%) than that in rural females (11.5%). After adjustment for survey years, age, socioeconomic levels and asthma, the odds of AR were higher in urban than rural residents, except for males in 1998.

Conclusion: The prevalence of AR in Korea has increased over the past decade, and living in an urban area may be a susceptible factor. For prevention and management of AR, further evaluations of contributing factors and mechanisms underlying differences in AR are needed.