Epidemiology of allergic conjunctivitis

Leonardi, Andrea; Castegnaro, Angela; Valerio, Alvise La Gloria; Lazzarini, Daniela

doi:10.1097/aci.0000000000000204

Cited by 126 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…28 This finding suggests some overlap of allergic conjunctivitis and allergic rhinitis in social media data and clinical diagnoses. 5 We also found differences in allergic vs nonallergic conjunctivitis where EMR data on nonallergic conjunctivitis correlated strongly with Google USA search results for pink eye but not significantly with UCSF diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis or Google USA search results for eye allergy . Inversely, EMR data on allergic conjunctivitis correlated strongly with Google USA search results for eye allergy (and with the typical annual San Francisco area high allergy season of March through May), but not with Google USA search results for pink eye or EMR data on nonallergic conjunctivitis data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…It often causes eye pain, discomfort, and temporary vision impairment, and rarely causes permanent conjunctival and corneal scarring. Conjunctivitis has 3 predominant forms: bacterial, 1 viral, 2 and allergic, 3–5 each with unique characteristics. 6 It contributes substantial annual costs in the United States affecting health care, the workforce, and education.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Surveillance Tools Emerging From Search Engines and Social Media Data for Determining Eye Disease Patterns

et al. 2016

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IMPORTANCE Internet-based search engine and social media data may provide a novel complementary source for better understanding the epidemiologic factors of infectious eye diseases, which could better inform eye health care and disease prevention.OBJECTIVE To assess whether data from internet-based social media and search engines are associated with objective clinic-based diagnoses of conjunctivitis.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Data from encounters of 4143 patients diagnosed with conjunctivitis from June 3, 2012, to April 26, 2014, at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation of each weekly observation to compare demographics and seasonality of nonallergic conjunctivitis with allergic conjunctivitis. Data for patient encounters with diagnoses for glaucoma and influenza were also obtained for the same period and compared with conjunctivitis. Temporal patterns of Twitter and Google web search data, geolocated to the United States and associated with these clinical diagnoses, were compared with the clinical encounters. The a priori hypothesis was that weekly internet-based searches and social media posts about conjunctivitis may reflect the true weekly clinical occurrence of conjunctivitis.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Weekly total clinical diagnoses at UCSF of nonallergic conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis, glaucoma, and influenza were compared using Spearman rank correlation with equivalent weekly data on Tweets related to disease or disease-related keyword searches obtained from Google Trends.RESULTS Seasonality of clinical diagnoses of nonallergic conjunctivitis among the 4143 patients (2364 females [57.1%] and 1776 males [42.9%]) with 5816 conjunctivitis encounters at UCSF correlated strongly with results of Google searches in the United States for the term pink eye (ρ, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.52 to 0.78]; P < .001) and correlated moderately with Twitter results about pink eye (ρ, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.16 to 0.56]; P < .001) and with clinical diagnosis of influenza (ρ, 0.33 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.49]; P < .001), but did not significantly correlate with seasonality of clinical diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis diagnosis at UCSF (ρ, 0.21 [95% CI, −0.02 to 0.42]; P = .06) or with results of Google searches in the United States for the term eye allergy (ρ, 0.13 [95% CI, −0.06 to 0.32]; P = .19). Seasonality of clinical diagnoses of allergic conjunctivitis at UCSF correlated strongly with results of Google searches in the United States for the term eye allergy (ρ, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.24 to 0.60]; P < .001) and eye drops (ρ, 0.47 [95% CI, 0.27 to 0.62]; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEInternet-based search engine and social media data may reflect the occurrence of clinically diagnosed conjunctivitis, suggesting that these data sources can be leveraged to better understand the epidemiologic factors of conjunctivitis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

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confidence: 99%

Surveillance Tools Emerging From Search Engines and Social Media Data for Determining Eye Disease Patterns

et al. 2016

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“…However, although VKC is a common disorder, particularly in Asia, most Asian patients with AC are diagnosed as having SAC and PAC. 3 Skin tests and/ or serum IgE antibody tests for common allergens often return negative results in patients with VKC; therefore, Figure 1 The cumulative incidence of allergic conjunctivitis in T1DM and non-T1DM cohort. T1DM, type 1 diabetes mellitus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 2 Approximately 6%-30% of the general population has been diagnosed with AC, 3 which represents more than 90% of all ocular allergies. 4 AC, which is a type of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity of the conjunctiva to allergens such as pollen, animal dander and other environmental antigens, 5 exhibits a similar pathophysiology to that of other atopic diseases and is believed to be associated with the T helper type 2 (Th2) response.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of allergic conjunctivitis in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a population-based retrospective cohort study

et al. 2017

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ObjectiveIn accordance with the dichotomy between T helper type 1(Th1) and T helper type 2 (Th2) responses, the occurrence of allergic conjunctivitis (AC) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is, in theory, inversely related in the individual. However, recent studies investigating the association between the two diseases are controversial.DesignPopulation-based cohort study.SettingWe used claims data of the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.ParticipantsWe identified 4160 patients aged 1–30 years with newly diagnosed T1DM and no history of AC at baseline. For each patient with T1DM, four non-T1DM controls (n=16,640) were matched by sex. The mean follow-up time was 6 years.Primary and secondary outcome measuresMultivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk of AC. We additionally evaluated the association between risk of AC and T1DM progression by examining Diabetes Complications Severity Index (aDCSI) changes from the date of diagnosis until the end of follow-up.ResultsThe overall incidence of allergic conjunctivitis (AC) was higher in the type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) cohort than in the control cohort (23.0 vs 13.5 per 1000 person-years, adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR): 1.59, 95% CI 1.47 to 1.71). Relative to that in patients with mildly progressive T1DM, the risk of AC increased as the adapted Diabetes Complications Severity Index (aDCSI) increased (aIRR: 1.68, 3.78 and 18.8, with yearly changes in aDCSI score: 0.51 to 1.00, 1.01 to 2.00, and >2.00 vs <0.51, respectively; for trend <0.001).ConclusionPatients with T1DM are at an elevated risk of developing AC; this risk increases with T1DM progression. The T helper type 1/T helper type 2 hypothesis is an overly simplistic explanation for this association.

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“…Allergic conjunctivitis (AC) [1], which may be acute or chronic, is associated with allergic rhinitis (AR) in 30%–70% of affected individuals, where majority have few episodes of mild conjunctivitis annually. Up to 30% of AC sufferers may have frequent episodes with intense and persistent symptoms (especially seasonal AC) [2]. The most common presenting symptoms are red and itchy eyes, followed by burning, stinging sensation, swelling and tearing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allergic conjunctivitis in Asia

Thong

2017

Asia Pacific Allergy

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Allergic conjunctivitis (AC), which may be acute or chronic, is associated with rhinitis in 30%–70% of affected individuals, hence the term allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (AR/C). Seasonal and perennial AC is generally milder than the more chronic and persistent atopic and vernal keratoconjunctivitis. Natural allergens like house dust mites (HDM), temperate and subtropical grass and tree pollen are important triggers that drive allergic inflammation in AC in the Asia-Pacific region. Climate change, environmental tobacco smoke, pollutants derived from fuel combustion, Asian dust storms originating from central/north Asia and phthalates may also exacerbate AR/C. The Allergies in Asia Pacific study and International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood provide epidemiological data on regional differences in AR/C within the region. AC significantly impacts the quality of life of both children and adults, and these can be measured by validated quality of life questionnaires on AR/C. Management guidelines for AC involve a stepped approach depending on the severity of disease, similar to that for allergic rhinitis and asthma. Topical calcineurin inhibitors are effective in certain types of persistent AC, and sublingual immunotherapy is emerging as an effective treatment option in AR/C to grass pollen and HDM. Translational research predominantly from Japan and Korea involving animal models are important for the potential development of targeted pharmacotherapies for AC.

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Epidemiology of allergic conjunctivitis

Cited by 126 publications

References 24 publications

Surveillance Tools Emerging From Search Engines and Social Media Data for Determining Eye Disease Patterns

Surveillance Tools Emerging From Search Engines and Social Media Data for Determining Eye Disease Patterns

Risk of allergic conjunctivitis in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a population-based retrospective cohort study

Allergic conjunctivitis in Asia

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