Last update:
29-Nov-2023

Allergic rhinitis is the commonest immunological disorder worldwide. It affects approximately 10–40% of the global population. The disease is an inflammatory response of the nasal mucosa caused by inhaled aeroallergens. The typical symptoms of allergic rhinitis include rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, nasal itching, and repetitive sneezing. We found 12 studies, prospective and cross-sectional, in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and Evros prefecture about the evaluation of the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in the Greek child and adolescent population for the period 1990–2022. These were found after a systematic review of the published scientific literature in the English language in electronic databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library) using the appropriate MeSH terms (allergic rhinitis; Greece; Greek; child; adolescent) for related studies. These studies involved among 517 and 3,076 subjects from 6 to 17 years old. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis which showed geographic and temporal variability was 2.1–32.5% in children and 25.3–30.8% in adolescents. Factors such as gender (boy), age (8–10 years), environmental exposures (moisture, mites, fungi), positive atopic individual and family history (asthma, eczema) were related to the presentation of the disease. In Greece, there is a lack of epidemiological studies concerning children and adolescents with allergic rhinitis. It is generally accepted that this disease is recognized as a major global public problem that requires immediate management. Therefore, the need for systematic research in the Greek child and adolescent population is vital in order to achieve an appropriate estimation and control of the manifestation of allergic rhinitis, not only at the individual but also at the public level.

Key words: Adolescent, Allergic rhinitis, Child, Greek population, Prevalence.