Influence of sociodemographic factors on quality of life during pollen season in seasonal allergic rhinitis patients Laurent Laforest, MD, MSc*; Jean Bousquet, MD, PhD†; Franc ¸oise Neukirch, MD, PhD‡; Michel Aubier, MD, PhD§; Guilhem Pietri, MSc¶; Gilles Devouassoux, MD, PhD; Yves Pacheco, MD, PhD; and Eric Van Ganse, MD, PhD* Background: Quality of life (QOL) is an important outcome in asthma and seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), and its determinants are imperfectly understood. More specifically, the influence of sociodemographic factors on QOL in patients with SAR has been so far little investigated. Objective: To examine the changes of QOL during the pollen season in patients with isolated SAR or SAR associated with asthma. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in southern France. Outpatients aged 18 to 60 years and regularly treated by respiratory physicians for SAR (with or without associated asthma) were identified. Patients were recruited before the grass or ragweed pollination period. At peak pollination, patients completed the French versions of the Mini Rhino-conjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (mini-RQLQ) and the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS). Results: A total of 135 patients was included, 83 with isolated SAR and 52 with associated asthma (mean age, 35.4 years; SD, 10.6 years; 56% female). At pollen peak, QOL scores were lower in women for all instruments, with significant effects on SF-12 MCS and PCS scores in multivariate analyses. Likewise, a university-level education was an independent predictor of higher SF-12 PCS and MCS scores. Patients who lived in rural areas had significantly poorer QOL at pollen peak, as measured by the mini-RQLQ (P = .002) and SF-12 PCS (P = .008). No influence of age, presence of an animal at home, or smoking status could be identified on any QOL scores. Conclusions: Being a woman, living in the countryside, and having a lower education level were all independent predictors of poorer QOL of SAR patients. These factors must be taken into account when interpreting QOL of patients with SAR. Further studies are needed to confirm these results. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005;95:26–32. INTRODUCTION Asthma and allergic rhinitis share common risk factors and are often associated. 1,2 As indicated by recent trends in treat- ment guidelines, quality of life (QOL) has become a major issue in the management of asthma and seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). 3 Although the QOL of asthma patients has been evaluated in several studies, evidence shows that SAR also causes impairment in physical, psychological, and social domains of QOL. 4,5 The influence of sociodemographic fac- tors on QOL in asthma has not been thoroughly explored, although some factors have been identified, such as sex and education. 6 To our knowledge, the role of sociodemographic factors in patients with SAR has been little investigated. This study examines how sociodemographic characteristics influ- ence QOL measures at pollen peak in patients with SAR and whether these characteristics differ from the QOL determi- nants identified for asthma. METHODS A prospective observational cohort study was conducted in 9 towns in southern France (Lyon, Grenoble, Valence, Vienne, Marseille, Chambe ´ry, Saint-Etienne, Bourgoin, and Pe ´age- de-Rousillon) in 2002. All patients were recruited by respi- ratory physicians. Among the adult patients who were invited to participate, 3 groups were identified at baseline according to the presence of concomitant respiratory condition: persistent asthma alone, SAR alone, and persistent asthma with SAR. Only patients who regularly visited respiratory physicians were eligible for inclusion in the study and prospectively followed up during either the spring (grass cohort) or fall (ragweed cohort) al- lergy season. The cohorts (grass and ragweed) were mutually exclusive. Follow-up ended after the pollen peak with a visit to the respiratory physician (study investigator). The date of the pollen peak was determined for each center and each * Pharmacoepidemiology Unit, EA 3091, University Hospital, Lyon, France. † Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital, Montpellier, France. ‡ Faculte ´ de Me ´decine Bichat, Paris, France. § Respiratory Medicine, University Ho ˆpital Bichat, Paris, France. ¶ Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey.  Respiratory Medicine, EA 3091, University Hospital Lyon-Sud, Lyon, France. Received for publication November 5, 2004. Accepted for publication in revised form January 7, 2005. 26 ANNALS OF ALLERGY, ASTHMA & IMMUNOLOGY