Links between allergic rhinitis and asthma

Allergic diseases of the airway, which include seasonal rhinitis, chronic perennial rhinitis andasthma, are recognized as inflammatory disorders of the airway mucosa,1-3 but differ in the location of the inflammatory reaction and clinical manifestations of the disease. Asthma and allergic rhinitis frequently coexist in the same patient and are thought to share common predisposing genetic factors which interact with the environmental influences. Both diseases have increased in prevalence over r…

Links between allergic rhinitis and asthma

AIlergic diseases of the airway, which include seasonal rhinitis, chronic perennial rhinitis and asthma, are recognized as inflammatory disorders of the airway mucosa, but differ in the location of the inflammatory reaction and clinical manifestations of the disease. Asthma and allergic rhinitis frequently coexist in the same patient and are thought to share common predisposing genetic factors which interact with the environmental influences. Both diseases have increased in prevalence over recent decades particularly in westernized countries. This increase has been largely attributed to environmental factors such as exposure to aerial pollutants and early life events, including the degree of exposure to infectious agents which might affect IgE production, since there has been insufficient time for a significant change in the gene pool.