Table 1 Characteristics of the survey population, according to the post-inclusion questionnaire
Italy | France | Spain | |
|---|---|---|---|
Number of participants (n = M/F), % female. | 114 (36/78), 68 % | 92 (27/65), 72 % | 107 (41/66), 61 % |
Age: mean, median [range] (years): | 37.5, 36 (18–63) | 35.8, 36 (18–62) | 38.2, 37 (18–68) |
Time since first symptoms: mean, median [range] (years): | 15.0, 16 (1–45) | 17.8, 18 (1–51) | 17.3, 13 (1–40) |
Time interval between first symptoms and consultation with a specialist: mean, median [range] (months): | 18.9, 4 (0.25–588) | 28.4, 6 (0.25–360) | 20.3, 11 (0.25–156) |
Proportion of patients (%) having consulted the following physicians (mean number of visits per year): | |||
GP | 92 % (3.4) | 91 % (3.0) | 70 % (3.9) |
Allerist | 87 % (2.0) | 83 % (1.7) | 70 % (1.4) |
ENT specialist | 27 % (2.3) | 27 % (2.3) | 15 % (1.7) |
Dermatologist | 24 % (1.6) | 20 % (1.7) | 8 % (2.6) |
Pulmonologist | 22 % (1.5) | 32 % (1.6) | 8 % (6.2) |
Paediatrician | 14 % (6.8) | 9 % (1.0) | 7 % (na) |
Other | 6 % (4.0) | 2 % (1.5) | 4 % (1.0) |
Other self-reported allergies (% of patients): | |||
Grass pollen | 79 % | 67 % | 67 % |
Parietaria pollen | 57 % | 37 % | 9 % |
Cat dander | 49 % | 51 % | 41 % |
Dog dander | 31 % | 26 % | 29 % |
Olive pollen | 27 % | 41 % | 35 % |
Birch pollen | 27 % | 44 % | 7 % |
Moulds | 24 % | 29 % | 35 % |
Cypress pollen | 21 % | 48 % | 9 % |
None (i.e. HDMs only) | 39 % | 21 % | 21 % |
Proportion of patients (%) having consulted the following combinations of physicians: | |||
GP only | 17 % | 9 % | 5 % |
Allergist only | 18 % | 4 % | 3 % |
GP + allergist | 33 % | 25 % | 31 % |
GP + another specialist | 7 % | 7 % | 5 % |
GP + two specialists | 11 % | 29 % | 26 % |
GP + three or more specialists | 4 % | 22 % | 28 % |
Prevalence of co-morbidities (% of patients): | |||
Sinusitis | 36 % | 53 % | 26 % |
Otitis | 13 % | 18 % | 9 % |
Conjunctivitis | 44 % | 43 % | 33 % |
Headache | 69 % | 62 % | 69 % |
Time having used symptomatic medications (% of patients): | |||
Less than 2 years | 7 % | 3 % | 3 % |
2 to 5 years | 35 % | 28 % | 21 % |
6 to 10 years | 22 % | 39 % | 30 % |
11 to 20 years | 21 % | 23 % | 27 % |
More than 20 years | 16 % | 7 % | 15 % |
Degree of disease control (% of patients): | |||
Totally controlled | 11 % | 4 % | 10 % |
Well controlled | 43 % | 53 % | 48 % |
Moderately controlled | 42 % | 34 % | 33 % |
Poorly controlled | 4 % | 7 % | 7 % |
Not controlled at all | 0 % | 2 % | 3 % |
Proportion of patients (%) suffering from symptoms for more than 4 days in a week | 70 % | 58 % | 54 % |
Proportion of HDM-only allergic participants (%) with a peak in symptoms. | 59 % | 63 % | 95 % |
Proportion of patients (%) taking the following medications: | |||
Antihistamines | 38 % | 40 % | 34 % |
Nasal corticoids | 7 % | 12 % | 10 % |
Inhaled corticoids | 3 % | 3 % | 9 % |
Bronchodilators | 7 % | 12 % | 15 % |
Inhaled corticoids + bronchodilator | 5 % | 7 % | 5 % |
Oral or topical corticoids | 12 % | 3 % | 4 % |
Eye drops | 4 % | 6 % | 4 % |
Leukotriene receptor antagonists | 2 % | 4 % | 3 % |