Impact of allergic rhinitis on stomatitis in Korean adolescents

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether adolescents with allergic rhinitis are at an increased risk of stomatitis and to ascertain possible sex-specific differences. Methods: The data for this cross-sectional study was obtained from the 18th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2022). Of the 56,213 students surveyed, 51,850 (boys 26,397 and girls 25,453) were included in the final analyses. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the impact of allergic rhinitis on the risk of stomatitis among Korean adolescents. Results: In Model II, which was adjusted for allergic disease, boys with allergic rhinitis had a 1.53-fold (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.40–1.67), and girls had a 1.35-fold (aOR=1.35, CI=1.25–1.46) elevated risk of stomatitis than in those without. In Model III, after adjusting for all covariates, boys with allergic rhinitis had a 1.48-fold (aOR=1.48, CI=1.36–1.62) elevated risk of stomatitis than in those without, and girls had a 1.32-fold (aOR=1.32, CI=1.22–1.43) elevated risk, which remained statistically significant after adjusting for covariates. Therefore, allergic rhinitis in adolescents exerts a detrimental effect on the risk of experiencing stomatitis symptoms; the risk was higher in boys than in girls. Conclusions: These findings suggest that oral health care attention and intervention are needed for adolescents with allergic rhinitis.