Measurement of quality of life during different clinical phases of Japanese cedar pollinosis.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess Quality of Life (QOL) scores in patients with Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica, CJ) pollinosis. METHODS: QOL was measured intraseasonally and extraseasonally in patients (n = 69) using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey, and compared with healthy control subjects (n = 50). The differences in intraseasonal QOL scores between short and long disease duration groups were studied. The relation of intraseasonal QOL scores to nose symptoms was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation. RESULTS: Significant decrease was observed in two of eight QOL items in intraseasonal measurements of patients. These QOL impairments improved extraseasonally. Scores for emotional problems in patients with long disease duration were less impaired than those with short disease duration. QOL scores in patients correlated poorly with the severity of nasal symptom. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to report QOL impairment in CJ pollinosis. Based on the findings long disease duration may improve emotional problems, and the correlation between disease severity and QOL is low.