WEDNESDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Nasal congestion may be a sign of severe asthma, according to a study published online Nov. 26 in Respiratory Research.
Jan Lötvall, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues evaluated data on asthma symptoms, rhinitis, and chronic rhinosinusitis from the 2008 West Sweden Asthma Study to determine whether multi-symptom asthma was related to signs of severe asthma, and to assess the association between multi-symptom asthma and different symptoms of allergic and chronic rhinosinusitis.
The investigators found multi-symptom asthma present in 2.1 percent of the general population. Compared to patients with fewer asthma symptoms, those with multi-symptom asthma had more than double the risk of having nighttime awakenings caused by asthma. While the prevalence of allergic rhinitis was similar in those with fewer- and multi-symptom asthma, nasal blockage and rhinorrhea were significantly increased in those with multi- versus fewer-symptom asthma (odds ratio, 2.21). The risk of having multi-symptom as compared with fewer-symptom asthma was significantly increased among those with any, or one to four, symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis.
"An epidemiologically identified group of individuals with multiple asthma symptoms harbor to greater extent those with signs of severe asthma. The degree of rhinitis, described by the presence of symptoms of nasal blockage or rhinorrhea, as well as the presence of any or several signs of chronic rhinosinusitis, significantly increases the risk of having multi-symptom asthma," the authors write.
Lötvall disclosed financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies.
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