Correlations between Allergic rhinitis and Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

The allergic rhinitis (AR) is common in children. Symptoms of AR may result in daytime inattention, irritability, and hyperactivity, which are similar to symptoms of ADHD. The goal of this study was to examine the associations between AR and ADHD. The study subjects included 469 patients who received psychiatric care for ADHD in 2005 and the general population (n = 220,599). Distributions of age, gender, and living areas as well as AR in the general population and in the ADHD group were examined by x -tests. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the risk factors associated with AR. The prevalence of AR in ADHD group and the general population was 28.4% and 15.2%, respectively, which was significantly higher in ADHD group than the general population (p<0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis 2 showed that ADHD was associated with a significantly higher rate of AR than the general population ([OR]=2.10; 95%CI=1.37-3.22; p<0.0001). In a conclusion our data showed that ADHD was significantly associated with the diagnosis of AR. Therefore, psychiatrists should be more aware of the comorbidity of AR when treating ADHD patients.

Keywords

• ADHD
• Allergic rhinitis
• AR
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder