3.2 Allergic rhinitis
Allergic inflammation is the most common cause of chronic rhinitis and
responsible for inducing nasal symptoms after allergen exposure in a
sensitized individual through an IgE-induced pathway30. A recent systematic review mentions a prevalence
of AR in athletes ranging from 21 to 56.5 % 31 which
is comparable to the prevalence in the general population. When looking
at specific sports populations however, aquatic athletes seem to suffer
more frequently from AR compared to land-based athletes32. This might be explained by the fact that
chlorination products might predispose to allergic sensitization33, however, this could not be confirmed by in
vivo 34 nor in vitro 5studies. It has been suggested that strenuous exercise may contribute to
the development of allergic sensitization after showing a potential
shift of the T-lymphocyte population towards a T helper 2 subtype upon
excessive exercise 35, 36. To our knowledge, no study
has demonstrated a causal relationship between exercise and allergic
sensitization.