Non-allergic rhinitis and associated risk factors among the elderly in communities close to gold mine dumps in Gauteng and North West provinces in South Africa: a cross-sectional study

Purpose To investigate whether non-allergic rhinitis among the elderly was associated with living close to mine dumps Methods Elderly persons ( n = 2397) residing in communities 1–2 km (exposed) and ≥ 5 km (unexposed) from five preselected mine dumps in Gauteng and North West provinces in South Africa were included in the cross-sectional study, using a previously validated modified ATS-DLD-78 questionnaire from the British Medical Research Council. Results The overall prevalence of non-allergic rhinitis in this study was 23.99%. In the unexposed, it was found to be 18.82% and 27.08% exposed communities. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that having non-allergic rhinitis was significantly associated with living in exposed communities (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.37–2.17), being an ex-smoker (OR 1.75; 95 CI 1.35–2.26), being a smoker (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.02–1.62), history of occupational exposure to dust/chemical fumes (OR 1.58; 1.30–1.93) and use of gas as the main residential heating/cooking fuel type (OR 1.61; 1.01–2.57). Conclusion A high prevalence of non-allergic rhinitis was observed in the elderly living in exposed communities. The adverse association was observed between residing in communities close to mine dumps and non-allergic rhinitis.