SAN DIEGO — People with allergic rhinitis report more sleep problems during winter, compared with the general population, Dr. Eli Meltzer said in a poster session at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
The finding underscores the importance of asking patients with allergic rhinitis how their symptoms are affecting their sleep quantity and quality.
“[People who] don't get adequate sleep are cognitively impaired and often psychosocially impaired,” Dr. Meltzer, an allergist who practices in San Diego, said in an interview.
Dr. Meltzer and his associates mailed a 27-item survey to 6,476 people nationwide between December 2005 and February 2006 who had completed a screening questionnaire during May and June of 2004 to target people with symptoms of allergic rhinitis. The purpose of the follow-up survey was to provide a longitudinal assessment of disease and to capture seasonal variation in disease burden.
Respondents used the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale to rate their sleep. It measures sleep quality and quantity on two scales, a sleep adequacy scale and a sleep problems index scale, ranging from 0 to 100: Higher adequacy scale scores correspond to more adequate amounts of sleep; higher problems scale scores correspond to poorer sleep quality. The scales' mean general population norms are 60.5 and 26.9, respectively.
Complete data were available on 5,371 of the respondents. Of these, 1,788 (33%) reported symptoms consistent with seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis during the previous 4 weeks that were not related to a cold or to the flu, such as runny nose/sniffling, sneezing, itchy nose, congested nose, and postnasal drainage.
The allergic rhinitis sufferers' mean scores on the sleep adequacy and sleep problems index scales were 51.1 and 35.3, respectively. More than 65% of the allergic rhinitis sufferers reported problems falling asleep or falling back to sleep after awakening, and fewer than half indicated they get enough sleep or feel rested upon awakening.
GlaxoSmithKline funded the study. Dr. Meltzer disclosed he has received research grants and honoraria from the company.
'[People who] don't get adequate sleep are cognitively impaired and often psychosocially impaired.' DR. MELTZER