Abstract
Purpose :
Allergic rhinitis (AR) is considered as a heterogeneous disease with a multifactorial pathophysiology. AR shares some pathophysiologic factors, such as altered immunity, vascular dysregulation and autonomic dysfunction, with normal tension glaucoma (NTG). We investigated the relationship between NTG and AR in a population-based setting, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Exam Survey (KNHANES).
Methods :
This retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study used KNHANES (2010-2012) database comprised of 23,379 individuals. A total of 8,614 eligible participants 40 years of age or older (604 subjects with NTG and 8,010 in the control) completed a comprehensive questionnaire and underwent ophthalmic examination required for diagnosis of NTG including Goldmann applanation tonometry, fundus photography and FDT perimetry, and an interview regarding nasal symptoms. The AR was defined using only 4 subjective symptoms (sneezing, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, and nasal itching) lasting for more than 1 month regardless of a common cold in the last 12 months. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to compare the proportion of prior AR and to determine factors affecting the risk of NTG.
Results :
The prevalence of AR in NTG patients was 29.1%, which showed significantly higher than that in the control group (29.1% versus 25.0%; p = 0.023). There were significant associations between NTG and AR (OR=1.34; 95% CI=1.12-1.62; p=0.002), even after adjusting for potential confounders (age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, family number, quartile of household income, eating-out frequency, smoking status). In particular, subjects aged 60~69, 70~79 years and male subjects had significantly higher OR for prior AR among NTG patients compared with control (OR=1.62; 95% CI=1.16-2.26; p=0.005, OR=1.52; 95% CI=1.06-2.18; p=0.024, OR=1.42; 95% CI=1.10-1.83; p=0.007).
Conclusions :
This study showed a significant association between NTG and AR, especially in aged 60 or older male patients and suggest that some causative factors for AR may play a role in the pathogenesis of NTG. Thus, we recommend that ophthalmologist and AR patients pay special attention to this potential risk.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.