Improvement in quality of Life after management of Allergic Rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is associated with disturbed sleep and subsequent functioning, and an impaired quality of life (QoL). The symptoms of allergic rhinitis exhibit prominent circadian variations, with symptoms being more common at the night-time or early morning.

A recent review studied the efficacy of cetirizine, a second-generation antihistamine, and selective H1-receptor antagonist, in relation to improvement in the quality of life of the patients, addressing the sleep disturbances and circadian variations in the symptoms of Allergic rhinitis in clinical practice, and establishing its role as a contemporary antihistamine for the management of Allergic rhinitis compared to newer antihistamines. The findings are published in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India JAPI.

A systematic literature review of the databases was conducted from PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1990 to 2020. The symptoms of Allergic rhinitis exhibited a circadian variation, with symptoms being worse during the night and early morning. The patients with Allergic rhinitis encountered several sleep-related symptoms, including poor sleep quality, daytime somnolence, fatigue, and impaired productivity and quality of life. Impaired quality of life in Allergic rhinitis was related to the disease severity.