Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness in Adults with Seasonal and Perennial Rhinitis: Is There a Link for Asthma and Rhinitis?

Epidemiological studies have shown that asthma and rhinitis often coexist in the same patients and the prevalence of asthma is greater in patients with rhinitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in bronchial reactivity in subjects with seasonal and perennial rhinitis.

We enrolled 128 subjects with seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis divided into three groups: A with perennial rhinitis and allergy to “Dermatophagoides Pteronissynus”; B with seasonal rhinitis and allergy to “Graminae” and “Parietaria”, who underwent methacholine challenge test (MCHt) during the exposure period (fron March until May); C with seasonal rhinitis and allergy to “Graminae” and “Parietaria”, who underwent MCHt during the non exposure period (from June until February).

The PC20 mean values of group A (1774.8 ± 20.7) and group B (1740.7 ± 38.8) were not significantly different, but significantly lower than those of group C (3010.0 ± 56.9) (p=0.001). The subjects with group A were positive to the MCHt in 54.54%, against 29.28% of group B and 11.62% of group C (p=0.007).

The results show differences in the degree of bronchial responsiveness. The dose-response curves documented a lower value of PC20 in the group with perennial rhinitis and a statistically significant difference of bronchial hyperresponsiveness prevalence between the three groups (p=0.007).