The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be contributed to by allergic rhinitis (hay fever):
Respiratory system (J00-J99)
- Bronchial asthma (pollen asthma; risk of disease in pollinosis (allergic rhinitis) is higher by a factor of 3.2 than in healthy individuals; “floor change”).
- Chronic sinusitis (sinusitis).
- Tympanic effusion (synonym: seromucotympanum) – accumulation of fluid in the middle ear (tympanum).
- Tracheitis allergica – tracheitis associated with severe coughing attacks.
Eyes and eye appendages (H00-H59).
- Conjunctivitis (conjunctivitis).
Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99)
- Deterioration of the skin condition in atopic eczema (neurodermatitis) during the pollen season.
Circulatory system (I00-I99)
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack) due to increasing pollen concentrations in spring: days with heavy pollen counts (> 95 pollen grains/m3) a 5.5% higher risk of infarction than on days with weak pollen counts (≤ 22 grains/m3)
Mouth, esophagus (food pipe), stomach, and intestines (K00-K67; K90-K93).
- Allergic gastroenteritis – occurrence of diarrhea (diarrhea) and meteorism (flatulence) after consumption of honey or after ingestion of pollen.
- Dental caries (secondary condition: children younger than ten years).
Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).
- Nasopharyngeal carcinomas (tumors of the nasopharynx (nose and throat)); patients with allergic rhinitis (allergic rhinitis) and chronic rhinosinusitis (concurrent presence of rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal mucosa) and sinusitis (sinusitis)) had a similar risk of disease (OR 2.29 and 2.70, respectively)
Psyche – Nervous System (F00-F99; G00-G99).
- Insomnia (sleep disorders)
- Almost no to no impairment related to “difficulty falling asleep” in patients who had well to very well controlled allergic rhinitis (AR)
- Patients with controlled AR slept through the night significantly better
- Poorly controlled AR patients had significantly increased “sleep deprivation” compared to patients with controlled AR
Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)
- Dysosmia (olfactory disorder; olfactory disorder).
Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – reproductive organs) (N00-N99).
- Vulvovaginitis pollinotica – inflammation of the vulva and vagina occurring in young girls.
Further
- Work performance is reduced
- Effects on cognitive performance
- Quality of life is reduced
- Concentration disorders
- School performance (ability to learn and concentrate) is reduced
- Social activities are reduced
Prognostic factors
- Continuous exposure to particulate matter with a particle diameter of 2.5 µm (PM2.5) or 10 µm (PM10) correlated with an increase in severe symptoms of rhinitis. The symptoms were dose-dependent: with each 5 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5, the probability of severe rhinitis increased by 17%.
