Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common chronic disease in children often affecting children?s daily lives and well-being.

Our aim was to assess the impact of AR on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and examine the differences between children aged 5 to 17 years with AR and without any allergies using the validated Child Health Questionnaire Parent Form 50 Questions (CHQ-PF50) in UK and Canada.

The survey was distributed through e-mail panels to caregivers of children with parent-reported symptomatic, moderate to severe AR, with at least one perennial allergy, no food allergy, and not currently or previously treated with allergy immunotherapy. A matched control group of caregivers of children without any parent-reported allergies was also contacted.

In total, 626 caregivers of children with AR and 723 caregivers of children without allergies completed the survey from January to March 2023. Among the AR group, the most prevalent perennial allergy was towards dust mites (89%). Using the CHQ scoring algorithm, we calculated the score of each item and the physical and psychosocial summary score for both groups. Children with AR scored significantly lower than children without allergy in all 15 CHQ-PF50 items (p<0.02). Children with AR obtained lower scores in both the physical (41 vs 51) and psychosocial (43 vs 49) summary score.

In conclusion, caregivers of children with AR report significant reductions in both physical and psychosocial HRQOL compared to children without allergy. This finding contributes to our understanding of the burden of moderate to severe AR for children, and emphasizes the importance of appropriate care and treatment, such as disease-modifying treatment, to reduce this burden.