Introduction
Rhinitis, allergic rhinitis (AR) in particular, and urticaria are both
common global problems. Basic science and epidemiological studies have
reported that AR affects more than 400 million people
worldwide.1 The estimated prevalence of rhinitis in
the United States and other developed countries is from 10%–30% in
adults and 40% in children,2 and the incidence rate
continues to increase in developing countries, including China and
India.3 Although AR is not deadly, it adversely
affects school performance, social life, and work productivity.
Moreover, AR has a major influence on quality of life, including a
duller sense of taste and smell, disturbed sleep, attention, fatigue,
depression, and anxiety/mood syndromes.4,5 Considering
that rhinitis affects the quality of life in a significant portion of
the population and presents a large social and economic burden directly
or indirectly, identifying risk factors for it is crucial to further
enhance the prevention and control of this disease.
Urticaria is also a common but nonfatal disease. However, it has
attracted increasing clinical attention in recent years as studies have
reported that this disease as having a severe negative impact on
patients’ quality of life.6-8
It has been recognized that patients with rhinitis have a higher risk of
developing other manifestations of atopic conditions, including asthma,
atopic dermatitis (AD), and food allergy.9,10Urticaria is another common condition in allergy and immunology,
although its pathogenesis remains unclear.
A high correlation between rhinitis and urticaria has been reported in
clinical settings. Many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have
explored the association between rhinitis and urticaria. Most clinical
researches have demonstrated that rhinitis was closely correlated with
urticaria,11-20 while others have reported
otherwise.21-23 Therefore, whether an atopic
association between rhinitis and urticaria exists should be confirmed.
Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the
prevalence and investigate the association between both aforementioned
diseases.