Rhinitis in adolescents. Results of the ISAAC survey.

The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) has estimated using a standardized questionnaire the prevalence of various forms of rhinitis among 18.555 adolescents aged between 10 and 17 years representative of the general population of five different zones of France. In the past year, 14.4 % (median prevalence (MP) among the various centres) suffered fr om rhinoconjunctivitis, 7.3 % (MP) from seasonal rhinitis (sneezing, rhinorrhoea and blocked nose, in the absence of colds or flu, during the pollen season) and 2.7% (MP) of perennial rhinitis (sneezing, rhinorrhoea and blocked nose, in the absence of colds or flu, for at least 7 months of the year). 15.4 % (MP) of adolescents had also already bad hay fever (cumulative prevalence). Girls and adolescents living in the South-West regions of France presented an increased risk of developing rhinitis compared. to other subjects. In particular, a higher incidence of rhinitis was observed in the Languedoc-Roussillon region than elsewhere. In contrast, age was not associated with the various forms of rhinitis in this population. Few adolescents complained of discomfort induced by rhinitis in their everyday activities, except in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, where nasal discomfort was very common.