Primary care focus on mental health

Fewer than half of UK teenagers with symptoms of hay fever have been officially diagnosed, researchers report.

In a survey of 2,282 students aged 15 or 16, 51 per cent said they suffered hay fever symptoms but only 21 per cent reported a confirmed diagnosis.

A quarter of respondents reported a diagnosis of asthma, 20 per cent were smokers and 22 per cent took hay fever medication. The study, presented at the conference, concluded hay fever should be more actively diagnosed.

Study leader Professor Aziz Sheikh, professor of primary care research and development at the University of Edinburgh, said GPs should ask teenagers about hay fever even when it was not the reason for attendance.