[Cross-sectional survey about the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Argentina: Study PARA].

Background: There are very few studies about the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Argentina.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in a population of inhabitants between the ages of 5 and 44 in Argentina.
Methods: A cross-sectional national study in which a self-reported questionnaire was used. The included participants are between the ages of 5 and 44 and they reside in urban areas. The information was collected by phone.
Results: 3200 participants were surveyed: 51.8% were women, 37.6% were between the ages of 5 and 19, and 62.4%, were between the ages of 20 and 44. The global prevalence of symptoms of allergic rhinitis was of 20.5%; the most frequent symptoms were sneezing (58.5%) and nasal congestion (51.4%). Overall, 44.3% of the participants had a family history of allergies. Allergic rhinitis was more frequent in women; the prevalence was of 22.3% in the group of participants between the ages of 5 and 19, and of 19.4% in the group of participants between the ages of 20 and 40 (p=0.0545); 63.8% of participants with symptoms did not have a medical diagnosis.
Conclusions: The results of this first cross-sectional national survey have confirmed the high prevalence of self-reported symptoms of allergic rhinitis in adults and children in Argentina, particularly in women.