Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Oct 01, 2026 29 minutes ago
A nationwide Korean study has identified a warning sign for COVID-19 survivors: people with existing allergies or chronic upper-airway disease were more likely to receive a new asthma diagnosis after infection. The findings suggest that respiratory follow-up deserves particular attention in these groups.
A Korean study links preexisting allergies and sinus disease to higher asthma rates after COVID-19
A Nationwide Investigation
Researchers were based at Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Sungkyunkwan University School of Pharmacy, and Kangwon National University College of Medicine.
Using linked national infection and health insurance records, the team studied 3,987,182 people with confirmed COVID-19 and no previously recorded asthma. As this
Thailand Medical News report explains, researchers compared people with allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, atopic dermatitis, or food allergy against infected people without these conditions.
After matching participants for comparable background characteristics, each group contained 1,563,148 people. Follow-up continued through December 31, 2022.
The Risk Difference
New asthma diagnoses occurred at rates of 3.55 versus 2.13 per 1,000 person-years, indicating a 66% higher relative hazard in the group with preexisting conditions. These figures describe diagnoses over accumulated follow-up time, rather than percentages of all participants.
Each condition showed an association. Atopic dermatitis, commonly called eczema, was linked to an 84% higher hazard; allergic rhinitis to 75%; and chronic rhinosinusitis, persistent inflammation of the nose and sinuses, to 104%.
Food allergy showed the largest estimate, at 181% higher, but relatively few cases made this result less precise.
More Conditions, Greater Vulnerability
People with one qualifying condition had a 58% higher asthma hazard than matched controls. Those with two or more had a 144% higher hazard. Higher previous systemic corticosteroid exposure also accompanied a stronger association, potentially reflecting more severe underlying disease. The study does not establish that these medicines caused asthma.
What the Findings Mean
The analysis relied on insurance claims, without lung-function tests to confirm every diagnosis. It also lacked an uninfected comparison group, so it cannot determine how much COVID-19 itself contributed to the differences.
For patients with allergies or chronic sinus disease, persistent cough, wheezing, or breathlessness after COVID-19 warrants medical assessment. The findings support targeted monitoring, while further research must clarify mechanisms and verify diagnoses with objective testing.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Nature Communications.
-74860-w">https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74860-w
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
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