New campaign highlights rhinitis-asthma link
Highlighting the link between rhinitis and asthma is the goal of a new campaign launched by the EU-funded GA2LEN project. Allergic rhinitis is caused by allergens such as plant pollens, animal dander or house dust mites and primarily affects the nose, with common symptoms including runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes. Asthma affects the lower airways, where an inflammation irritates the muscles around the airways, causing them to constrict and leading to wheezing and breathlessness. The two diseases are often treated by different medical disciplines. However, there is considerable evidence, much of it gathered by GA2LEN scientists, of a link between these two conditions. The goal of the campaign is to make both patients and healthcare professionals aware of these links and explain how this could affect treatment of the two conditions. Proof of the rhinitis-asthma link comes from epidemiological research surveys, basic research studies and clinical trials. For example, epidemiological studies have revealed that the two conditions often co-exist; around 80% of asthmatics have rhinitis and around 15-30% of rhinitis patients have asthma. Basic research has demonstrated that there are many similarities in the inflammatory mechanisms involved in both conditions. Meanwhile clinical research has shown that treating allergic rhinitis in asthmatics also improves asthma symptoms and reduces hospitalisations. GA2LEN researchers are continuing to build on these findings in order to deepen our understanding of the links and see whether allergic rhinitis and asthma really are a 'united airways disease'. This term refers to a condition which affects both upper and lower airways and is influenced by inflammatory processes, so that changes in upper airway function could result in changes in the function of the lower airways. 'Whether or not the link is causal, it is important for primary care physicians to recognise the presence of rhinitis in asthma patients and similarly that rhinitis patients are evaluated for the presence of asthma,' the project partners write in a leaflet designed for doctors as part of the campaign. The partners have also written a leaflet for patients. Currently the leaflets are only available in English, but as the campaign is rolled out across Europe, both will be made available in other languages.