Increasing prevalence of allergic rhinitis but not asthma among children in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2001 (Phase 3 International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood)

Abstract

There is a worldwide belief that the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases is increasing but the measures used in many studies are susceptible to systematic errors. We examined the trend of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema prevalence in school children aged 6-7 years in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2001 using standardized ISAAC methodology. There were 4448 and 3618 children participating in 2001 and 1995, respectively. The prevalence of life-time rhinitis (42.4% vs. 38.9%, p < 0.01), current rhinitis (37.4% vs. 35.1%, p < 0.03), current rhinoconjunctivitis (17.2 vs. 13.6%, p < 0.01) and life-time eczema (30.7% vs. 28.1%, p = 0.01) increased significantly. There was no significant change in prevalence of life-time asthma, life-time wheeze and current wheeze albeit a significant increase in severe asthma symptoms. We investigated a number of potential risk factors including sex, family history of atopy, sibship size, birth weight, respiratory tract infections, pet ownership and exposure to tobacco smoke. However, the increases in prevalence of rhinitis and eczema could not be entirely explained by the change of prevalence of these risk factors. The odds ratio OR for the study period remained significantly associated with current rhinitis (OR 1.31, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.17-1.46), current rhinoconjunctivitis (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.41-1.87) and life-time eczema (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.16-1.45) after adjustment for these confounding variables using logistic regression model. Further study is warranted to elucidate the factors contributing to the observable change in the prevalence of rhinitis in our population.

Prevalência de rinite alérgica em adolescentes do Distrito Federal: comparação entre as fases I e III do ISAAC

“…12 According to many research projects applying the phase III ISAAC protocol, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis has been increasing in some countries. [2][3][4][5] In Brazil the mean prevalence of rhinitis was 16.8%. 13 No changes were detected in Porto Alegre, Salvador or São Paulo, but increases were observed in Curitiba and Recife.…”

“…[2][3][4][5] Allergic rhinitis, with its intimate association with asthma, is a public health problem in many countries, leading to the need for continuous monitoring of its tendencies.…”

Prevalencia de síntomas de rinitis alérgica y su relación con factores de riesgo en escolares de Santiago, Chile

“…En estudios no colaborativos, la mayor prevalencia en la población pediátrica está descrita por Wright y cols, siendo ésta de 42% a los 6 años de vida 25 . Es conocido el aumento en la prevalencia de rinitis en los últimos años, lo que podría estar determinado por la industrialización y los cambios en el estilo de vida: mayor polución ambiental, mejoría de las condiciones habitacionales, mejoría de la higiene, cambios en los hábitos dietarios [11][12][13][14][15]29,30 . Von Mutius y cols describieron una prevalencia de fiebre de heno de 8,6% en niños de 9 a 11 años residentes en Alemania Occidental, en comparación con una cifra de 3,4% en los residentes en Alemania Oriental en su estudio realizado entre 1989 y 1992 14 .…”

Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) 2008*

“…Often, it is found that rhinitis prevalence increases faster than asthma prevalence, which was also found to decrease in some countries (904,947,948,1896,(1917)(1918)(1919)(1920)(1921)(1922). It appears that in regions of highest prevalence, the proportion of subjects suffering from asthma or rhinitis may be reaching a plateau (1919).…”