Fuente: PubMed "pollen" Front Pediatr. 2026 Jun 3;14:1817538. doi: 10.3389/fped.2026.1817538. eCollection 2026.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is highly prevalent in school-aged children and can substantially impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The modifiable determinants of HRQoL in this population remain incompletely understood.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 110 children aged 6-12 years with physician-diagnosed AR and 110 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled from a tertiary hospital (January-December 2023). HRQoL was assessed using the Pediatric Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (PRQLQ). A visual analog scale (VAS) quantified four core nose symptoms, while a structured questionnaire captured household environmental exposures, allergen patterns, and treatment adherence. Anxiety and sleep quality were evaluated using HADS-A and PSQI, respectively. Independent-samples t tests, repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction, and multiple linear regression were performed.RESULTS: The Chinese PRQLQ demonstrated good reliability, with an overall Cronbach's α of 0.891 and an overall test-retest correlation coefficient of 0.895. Children with AR had higher total and domain PRQLQ scores than controls (all P < 0.01). Core nose symptoms were comparably severe, while secondary symptoms were milder. Poor HRQoL was independently associated with pet ownership, secondhand smoke, high indoor humidity, frequent pollen-season outdoor activity, increased dust-mite exposure, poor medication adherence, absence of allergen immunotherapy, higher anxiety, and poor sleep (all P < 0.01).CONCLUSIONS: AR markedly impairs HRQoL in school-aged children. Targeted management of nose symptoms, household exposures, adherence, and psychosocial factors, combined with timely allergen immunotherapy, may optimize quality of life.PMID:42317648 | PMC:PMC13272351 | DOI:10.3389/fped.2026.1817538