[Allergic rhinitis, respiratory obstruction and bronchial asthma in the Vienna population]

In the present study the incidence of bronchial asthma, airway complaints, and allergic rhinitis was investigated in a randomized population section including 3000 male and female inhabitants of Vienna (sex ratio 1:1), aged 20-44. Data on complaints in the respiratory tract were obtained from a total of 71% of the study population. Our results suggest that 14.7% of the entire population was suffering from allergic rhinitis (16.4% male versus 13.0% female; p < 0.05). Airway complaints such as wheezing, whistling, and feeling of tightness in the chest, awakening because of shortness of breath or cough were frequently reported, with no major differences between male and female subjects. The overall percentage of study subjects stating that they had suffered from airway complaints in the year before, i.e., the percentage of those giving affirmative answers to one of the questions, was 29%. Bronchial asthma was calculated to be present in 5.1% of the entire population (5.9 male versus 4.4 female). Attacks of asthma were reported by only 2.2% of the subjects, which gives an indication of the discrepancy between identified and unidentified bronchial asthma. Allergic rhinitis is correlated to, and constitutes a risk factor for the occurrence of complaints in the respiratory tract; public health policy should therefore be aimed at the prevention or early treatment of allergic rhinitis, and at reducing the proportion of cases suffering from unidentified bronchial asthma.