Prevalence of psychological stress in allergic rhinitis patients attending a tertiary care hospital - A cross sectional study

Background: Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is a common disorder in patients attending Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) department. It has considerable impact on the life of affected individual. Many studies have linked certain psychological disorders to AR. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of psychological stress in AR patients and assess its relation to duration and severity of the disease. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of AR patients attending ENT OPD during 6 months period. AR patients were diagnosed and classified as per ARIA guidelines. Then they were subjected to standard psychiatric interview and their psychological stress was measured using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results: Of 1804 new patients attending ENT OPD, 58 were diagnosed as suffering from AR. Among them, 29 (50%) were found to have significant stress; 12(20.69%) have Anxiety Disorder and 3(5.17%) were found to have Depressive Disorder. Among AR patients, those with persistent moderate-severe type were found to have high prevalence rate which is statistically significant. There is no relation between intensity of symptoms and duration of illness to significant psychological stress in AR patients. Conclusion: Patients with AR have significant psychological stress which should not be overlooked during treatment. It may be related to inherent pathological factors like IgE level, psychological and social factors rather than intensity and duration of illness