Pediatric Obesity Linked to Increased Risk of New-Onset Allergic Rhinitis

A new study showed pediatric obesity was linked to an increased risk of new-onset allergic rhinitis.¹

Research has shown obesity’s connection with atopic diseases beyond its role in increasing the risk of asthma. Studies indicate that a greater body mass index (BMI) is linked to an increased prevalence of other atopic diseases, such as allergic rhinitis.

A 2016 cross-sectional study found being overweight or obese was associated with an increased risk of non-allergic rhinitis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 – 1.93; P = .02).² The same study found obesity was not associated with allergic rhinitis in adults, and obesity was associated with reduced odds of allergic rhinitis in children (aOR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.19 – 0.64; P < .01).

“There was no significant difference in allergic rhinitis or non-allergic rhinitis by overweight or obesity,” investigators had written. “Among children, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis was lower in those with central obesity than in those without central obesity.”

Investigators of a more recent study, presented at the 2025 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting in San Diego from February 28 – March 3, sought to assess the temporal association between obesity and allergic rhinitis by seeing whether a greater BMI was linked to an increased risk of new-onset allergic rhinitis in a pediatric population.¹

The team, led by Hayley Baker, MD, from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, conducted a retrospective cohort study with a sample of patients aged 2 – 19 years with obesity (BMI Percentile: 95%) and who were a normal weight (BMI Percentile: 5 – 85%), excluding those with a prior diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. The primary outcome was the incidence of new-onset allergic rhinitis at 1 and 3-year follow-up periods. Investigators matched participants 1:1 by age and sex; each arm had 810,784 patients.

At 1 year, the relative risk of new-onset allergic rhinitis for patients with obesity was 1.24 (95% CI, 1.21 – 1.26), compared with patients of normal weight. At 3 years, the relative risk of new-onset allergic rhinitis in patients with obesity was 1.22 (95% CI, 1.20 – 1.24).

“Given the limitations of large database studies, prospective analyses are needed to confirm these findings and determine the mechanistic basis of this association,” Baker and colleagues concluded.

References

1. Baker, H, Hoying, D, Hayden, J, et al. Pediatric Obesity Is Associated with Increased Risk Of New-Onset Allergic Rhinitis. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 155, Issue 2, AB452

2. Han YY, Forno E, Gogna M, Celedón JC. Obesity and rhinitis in a nationwide study of children and adults in the United States. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016 May;137(5):1460-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2015.12.1307. Epub 2016 Feb 13. PMID: 26883461; PMCID: PMC4860058.