A prevalence study of chronic rhinitis among residents in Telok Blangah Town, Singapore.

A community-based questionnaire survey on a random sample of 562 persons aged seven to 81 years residing in the flatted housing estate of Telok Blangah, Singapore, was studied to determine the prevalence of chronic rhinitis, its associated risk factors and severity of the symptomatology. Chronic rhinitis was defined as the presence of nasal obstruction or clear, watery discharge together with any or both of the following: tearing eyes or sneezing, for a period of more than one month. The overall prevalence was 32.5% with Chinese having the highest ethnic specific rate of 33.9% followed by Indians (27.1%) and Malays (25.4%). The age-specific prevalence rates showed a clear downward trend with increasing age (P < 0.0001). Among the risk factors studied, family history of atopy ranked the highest followed by personal history of atopy and age group (< 30 years and 30 years or more). Most of the chronic rhinitis' symptoms (79%) were graded as not severe.