NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People with persistentallergic rhinitis — better known as hay fever — may experience aprogressive worsening of nasal airflow depending on how long theyhave the disorder, according to Italian researchers.

Dr. Giorgio Ciprandi, of Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria SanMartino, Genoa, Italy, and colleagues assessed nasal function(i.e., nasal airflow) in 100 patients with persistent allergicrhinitis. Half the patients had short-term rhinitis (not more than2 years) and half were long-term sufferers (rhinitis of at least 6years’ duration).

Those with long-term rhinitis had significantly lower nasalairflow values than those with short-term rhinitis; the averageairflow rates were 348 versus 466 milliliters per second, the teamreports in the medical journal Otolaryngology-Head and NeckSurgery.