Heterogeneity of Adult Rhinitis for Multimorbidity and Age at Onset among Non-Sensitized Rhinitis and Mono-/Poly-Sensitized Rhinitis: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Recent studies have proposed that clinical and immunological differences exist between mono- and poly-sensitized subjects with allergic diseases, and poly-sensitization was related to multimorbidity of allergic diseases among children and adolescents. Objective: We compared the clinical characteristics and multimorbidity of allergic diseases between adult rhinitis patients mono- and poly-sensitized to common aeroallergens using a retrospective cross-sectional study for tertiary care subjects. Methods: The medical records of 1,615 patients who were clinically diagnosed with rhinitis by an otolaryngologist and evaluated with skin prick tests were reviewed. The severity of the rhinitis symptoms, comorbidities (asthma, conjunctivitis, and eczema), family history of allergic diseases, and the results of skin prick tests were evaluated. Results: There were 392 patients with mono-sensitized rhinitis (mono-sR), 325 with poly-sensitized rhinitis (poly-sR), and 898 with non-sensitized rhinitis (non-sR). Comorbid conjunctivitis and eczema were most common in poly-sR, followed by mono-sR, and least common in non-sR patients. The age at onset of rhinitis was clearly different between adult patients with non-sR and mono-/poly-sR, but not between patients with mono-sR and poly-sR. However, the age at onset of rhinitis was much younger in non-sR and mono-sR patients with conjunctivitis or eczema than those without such comorbidities. Conclusion: Thefrequency of comorbid conjunctivitis and eczema in adult rhinitis patients differed by a quantitative trait of immunoglobulin E sensitization. Depending on the multimorbidity of allergic diseases, onset age of rhinitis seems to be different in adult rhinitis patients.