Ocular Symptoms of Cedar Pollinosis in Otolaryngology Patients

Background: Japanese cedar pollinosis is a disease with a variety of symptoms; in particular, ocular and nasal symptoms occur frequently. The incidence of these cedar pollinosis symptoms reportedly differs year by year, and due the large amount of Japanese cedar pollen dispersed in Japan, they are often more severe than the symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis in Europe and the United States. Although pollen allergy prevalence symptoms in Europe (Canonica et al. 2007) and the United States (Schatz 2007) has been reported, the prevalence of ocular symptoms due to cedar pollinosis in Japan has yet to be determined.

Methods: We used the Japanese Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire to examine symptoms and quality of life in 633 patients who consulted our hospital or ear, nose, and throat clinic between 2009 and 2014 during the peak cedar pollen season and who had not received any previous treatment.

Results: Ocular symptoms were seen in 87% of patients. Itchy eyes were more prevalent than watery eyes, with 84%of patients experiencing itchy eyes and 63% watery eyes, even in a year with low pollen dispersal. Responses for the occurrence of nasal and ocular symptoms indicated that a more severe score for nasal symptoms was correlated with better eye symptoms. Comparison of annual pollen counts revealed a correlation between worsening of itchy eyes and increased pollen counts. However, the severity of watery eye symptoms did not differ significantly between years with small and moderate pollen levels, indicating that watery eyes develop when the amount of pollens is high.

Conclusions: This study revealed that ocular symptoms of Japanese cedar pollinosis are prevalent even in years with low cedar pollen dispersal, and that pollinosis patients with ocular symptoms were likely to have more severe nasal symptoms.

Reference:

Canonica GW, Bousquet J, Mullol J, Scadding GK, Virchow JC. Survey of the burden of allergic rhinitis in Europe. Allergy 2007;62 Suppl 85:17-25.

Schatz MA. Survey of the burden of allergic rhinitis in the USA. Allergy. 2007;62 Suppl 85:9-16.