INTRODUCTION

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a type-2 chronic inflammatory disease affecting the nasal mucosa and characterized by nasal symptoms such as sneezing, rhinorrhoea (nasal discharge), pruritus, and nasal congestion1-3. It is one of the most common non-communicable chronic diseases in the world, affecting over 400 million people of all ages, particularly the paediatric population1-6. While the prevalence of physician-diagnosed AR in the United States has been observed as high as 15% and 30%, based on self-reported nasal symptoms7,8, the prevalence was as high as up to 50% in many European countries9. According to the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) and the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) statements, severe, refractory, or mixed forms of AR are significantly increasing across the globe and have contributed substantially to the socio-economic burden of the disease10-12.
AR often coexists with other conditions, such as atopic dermatitis, rhinosinusitis, rhino-conjunctivitis, and particularly asthma – a coherent feature often referred to as ‘the atopic march’ due to common systemic inflammatory processes2,4. 40-50% of patients with AR also have asthma whereas the prevalence of AR as a comorbidity in asthmatic patients is even higher, i.e., 70-90%13. Several reports described that the patients suffering from AR show a poorer quality of life (QoL), being affected by impaired sleep pattern, increased amount of fatigue, depression, risk of driving accident, and altered physical and social functions8,14-16. Often, a poor perception of AR symptoms is associated with poor control of AR17. However, studies assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms control in AR patients with concomitant asthma are lacking.
The Aerobiological Information Systems and allergic respiratory disease management (AIS Life +) study focused on this aspect, by using specifically designed and validated questionnaires on quality of life and control for AR with comorbid asthma.