Prevalence of Sleep Disorders in Moderate to Severe Type of Allergic Rhinitis

Abstract

Aim and objective To study the prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with moderate and severe types of allergic rhinitis (AR). Materials and methods Patients presenting to the ENT OPD of a tertiary care hospital were evaluated using validated tools. Those with symptoms of allergic rhinitis and having a score of >7 using the score for allergic rhinitis (SFAR) questionnaire, were assessed for severity of allergic rhinitis using allergic rhinitis and its impact on asthma (ARIA) classification. A total of 210 patients with moderate to severe AR were included. Associated sleep disorders were assessed using self-administered questionnaires-French version (HD 42) and Epworth sleepiness scale score (ESS). The data was compiled into IBM SPSS statistics 2.0 windows and correlated. Results Among 210 patients included in this study, the sleep disorders reported were insomnia in 59%, hypersomnia in 38.6%, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in 2.4% with no gender or age significance (p = 0.153 and 0.173, respectively). A total of 83.3% of patients complained of tiredness on waking up in the morning and 54.3% of patients reported daytime somnolence. Snoring was correlated with OSA and was seen to be higher in males (45%, p = 0.001) and middle aged (42.96 years, p = 0.002). Conclusion There is a significant prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis. Early detection and treatment of these will improve their quality of life. Clinical significance Patients presenting with AR symptoms should be routinely questioned about their sleep quality and daytime somnolence so that early detection and aggressive treatment of AR can help in controlling the resultant sleep disturbances and thereby significantly improve the quality of life in these individuals. How to cite this article Ramachandran C, Bhate JJ, Menon UK, et al. Prevalence of Sleep Disorders in Moderate to Severe Type of Allergic Rhinitis. Indian J Sleep Med 2021;16(1):1–4.